


With You Till The Very End

by Jellybean96



Series: Providence!AU [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Relationship, Season 2 Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, characters to be added as they appear, raising a kid together, really slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2020-04-11 12:16:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 63,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19109479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: They thought their biggest obstacle was going to be figuring out how to be parents while living on a secret spy base and still being on somewhat shaky ground with one another. Boy, were they wrong.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! Thank you so much to all of you who read the other story in my Providence!AU. This is the sequel for "Want To Move Forward and Forget", so if you haven't read that one, then I suggest you think about it before reading this one, so you'll understand more of what's going on.
> 
> But if you have read that one, then welcome. Thanks for coming back. I'm really excited to share this sequel with you, as there is A LOT that is going to happen here. And please do not hate me for the continuing of the slow-burn Skyeward. I promise it'll pay off in the end! But they've still got a ways to go.
> 
> Enjoy!

A sharp, familiar cry cuts through her attempt at sleep and she lets out a tired groan. Reluctantly pushing herself up into a sitting position, she runs her hands down over her face before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up.

Grabbing the tablet off her nightstand that doubles as the baby monitor, she moves on pure muscle memory out of her bunk and to the room just next door. She keys in her code to unlock the door and moves inside, setting the tablet on the shelf closest to her just inside the door.

Squinting in the dim lighting from the projected stars on the ceiling, she crosses over to the crib against the wall and peers down at the squirming one-month old lying inside. His arms are flailing and his feet are kicking against the blanket she'd put over him earlier in the night. It's already off his body and working its way to being completely bunched up at the bottom end of the crib.

"Hey, baby," she says softly, reaching inside to run a hand over his head. "What's the matter, huh? I thought you were going to try and sleep for me. I know you're still pretty young, but I thought we made a deal early on to go easy on each other." She sighs as her son keeps crying. "Alright, come here."

She carefully lifts him out of the crib and settles him against her chest, gently swaying from side to side on her feet, one hand rubbing up and down his back in soothing motions. She presses a kiss to the top of his head as she moves to the rocking chair in the corner near the crib.

She settles herself in the chair and leans back, laughing quietly when she notices Adian's face slowly nudging closer to her breast. "Of course you're hungry. You certainly have an appetite, don't you?"

She closes her eyes and leans her head back as her son eats, hoping to rest her eyes even for just a few minutes. She cradles him close to her chest so he doesn't have to strain his little neck. She loves these quiet moments between the two of them before the rest of the world creeps in on them and they have to deal with other people and situations.

If she could, she'd make it so that it was just her and her baby boy, just the two of them relaxing alone without having to deal with anything else. She might even consider letting Grant in on it too, solely for the purpose of letting him be with Adian. He's been proving to her in the last month that he really wants to be a good dad. He's taking every chance he has to take care of Adian. She loves how much he loves their son. It warms her heart a little more every single time she sees the two of them together.

A small gurgling pulls her out of her head and she smiles down at her son staring up at her with wide eyes.

"You all done, baby?"

She carefully lifts him up onto her shoulder, remembering just in time to put a burp rag there first before settling him in. She pats his back gently as she rocks in the chair, trying to get even the tiniest of burps from him. This rocking chair is something that she definitely did not think of when she was compiling a list of things to get. But it's another reminder to her of how amazing Fitz and Trip are where her son is concerned. One of the best gifts that she got from her shower.

"I know you've got one in there, baby," she says as she continues to pat at his back. "Come on, give momma a burp."

Sometimes she still can't believe that this is her life now. Sleepless nights, long days dealing with a slightly cranky baby, the seemingly never-ending effects on her body after giving birth.

It's all worth it, though, she supposes, to finally have her baby in her arms, happy and healthy. Guess all those mommy-blogs really were right.

.

.

.

"Go away," she mumbles, swatting at whatever is trying to shake her awake. She's tired all the time. Even when she doesn't think she's tired, she ends up being tired. She just wants to sleep for a few uninterrupted hours. Is that really too much to ask?

"Skye, come on."

Her eyes fly open and she gasps at the weight she no longer feels against her chest. "Adian."

"He's right here, he's fine."

She looks up to find Grant standing next to the couch, Adian resting comfortably against his shoulder. He's swaying on his feet and rubbing a hand up and down Adian's back. "He woke up but you didn't."

She sighs. "I can't believe I didn't notice."

Grant waves her off. "It's fine. I had a few minutes with him before I realized you might want to be awake just in case."

"Yeah, thanks." She pulls herself into a more seated position. "And you know, his room is right next door to yours," she reminds him. "You can always go in there and see him whenever you want to at any point."

He nods. "I know. But I don't want to disrupt his sleeping pattern or whatever. It's important for him to have a routine."

"No, what's important is for him to sleep through the night so that I can sleep through the night. I like my sleep, Grant."

He chuckles, bouncing Adian lightly. "Yes, I know. But he's still little, he's not going to sleep through the night yet. At least, that's what I read."

She sighs, leaning her head against the back of the couch. "I know. But I'm just so tired all the time. It's probably why I fell asleep when he did and didn't wake up when he did either."

"No one ever said parenting was going to be easy."

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I'm aware of that. I just wish he would sleep all night so I could sleep all night."

"I mean...you could, if I got up with him at night."

She shakes her head. "No, that's okay. I think it's internally wired for me to get up with him when he needs to eat. And since I'm breastfeeding him, it's definitely easier if I get up with him."

"Okay. But my offer still stands whenever you want it."

She smiles appreciatively. "Thank you." She lets out a sigh as she watches him rock Adian gently. "I can't believe he's already a month old."

"Neither can I. I know it might be a little weird, but I don't think I want him to grow up."

She shakes her head. "No, it's not weird at all, and you're not the only one. I don't want him growing up either. He's so cute and tiny right now, I don't want that to go away. I mean, he's also going to be cute as he gets older because he's a mix of us and we're both very attractive people, but I don't want his tininess to go away at all." She leans against the back of the couch, a small smile on her face as she watches her son. "He's just so perfect how he is right now."

Seconds later, Adian begins fussing again, his quiet whimpers turning into full-blown whines rather quickly.

Skye sighs. "Except for when he does that. He's been so good and quiet up until now." She shifts on the couch and holds her arms out. "Here, give him to me."

Grant's brows furrow as he continues to bounce Adian. "You don't think I can calm down my own son?"

"It's not like that, Grant. I have complete faith in you when it comes to taking care of him, but are you the one who is his source of food until he can eat regular food on his own?"

"Oh, um...no."

"Exactly. So give him to me, I think he's just hungry. Again." She takes Adian and holds him against her chest as she adjusts her shirt. "Calm down, baby," she says softly as her son begins nuzzling against her chest. "You've gotta give momma a second."

"I can't pick up on what he needs."

She looks over her shoulder. "What?"

"I can't pick up on what he needs," Grant repeats, his eyes locked on the floor before he looks up at her. "You're so in tune with what he needs and I'm not. I can't do anything for him."

She frowns. "Hey, whoa, don't beat yourself up about this, Grant. I spent nine months growing and carrying him inside my body; he and I have a special bond and I'm just a little more naturally in tune with him. But it took a little time for me to actually figure out what his cries mean. And I still get it wrong sometimes. Like you said, parenting isn't easy. And you're his dad, you two will have your own special bond as he gets older."

He sighs, his shoulders slumping. "I guess so. I just...I'm going to go walk around for a bit. Let me know if you or Adian need anything, okay?"

She nods. "I will."

She watches as he walks away, his head down and his shoulders still slumped in defeat.

She sighs and looks back down at her son, taking one of his small fists in her hand as he stares up at her with curious eyes.

"You love your daddy, right, kiddo? I know you do, and when you're older you'll be able to tell him that. I just wish he knew that and didn't beat himself up for not being able to figure some things out."

She lets go of his fist and runs her hand down over his head. "Maybe the two of you just need some bonding time. I have been hogging you a lot. But it's not really my fault when you need me for so much stuff."

She sighs again. "Guess we'll just have to play it by ear, then, huh?" She smiles when he just continues to watch her. "Now that you've eaten, I think it's time for momma to get herself something to eat before she gets cranky." She leans forward and sets him down on the floor on his back underneath the playtime mobile she got at her baby shower. She pushes some of his other toys a little bit closer, just in case, and then makes her way into the kitchenette, her stomach already grumbling.

"Perfect timing."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. Had some time before work so I thought I'd update.
> 
> Enjoy!

Grant frowns as he stares down at his son lying asleep in the middle of the bed, a small wall of pillows surrounding him as a precaution. He'd debated whether or not to put the pillows there when the boy fell asleep because his son can't roll over yet. And it's not like he's going to take his eyes off his son the entire time he's with him, just in case something does happen. But still, he couldn't keep himself from taking every precaution he can to keep his son safe. He doesn't want to miss anything, whether it's good or bad. He doesn't want anything bad to happen to him though, hence the wall of pillows.

He sighs, hanging his head. "Some bonding time this is," he mutters to himself. He looks back at his still-sleeping son. "Are you sure your mom isn't trying to remain your favorite by sabotaging our so-called bonding time by giving you to me when it's time for your nap?"

He leans back against the wall behind his bed, running a hand down his face. "And even if you were awake, you'd have no idea what I'm saying or be able to even answer me. If there was any reason I'd wish you to be older, it's so that I could actually talk to you when you're awake and you'd understand and answer me."

He sucks in a quick breath when Adian starts to stir, his small head slowly turning and his face scrunching up tightly. He remains in his seat, but sits up a little, waiting to see if Adian will settle back down and continue sleeping or not.

Instead of settling back down, though, the rest of Adian's body joins in and he begins kicking at the air, his tiny face scrunching up even more.

He reaches out and picks the boy up as carefully as he can, bringing him to his shoulder and gently bouncing him. "Hey, you're okay, bud," he says softly, rubbing at his son's back. "You don't need to cry, daddy's here."

He continues to bounce the baby as Adian keeps crying. He runs through every possibility in his head of what could be wrong with his son. Every single little thing.

Nothing comes to mind immediately after running through all of the obvious ones, and he starts to panic. He keeps his face calm and neutral, but on the inside, his heart is racing, his head is spinning, and his gut is sinking.

He doesn't want to have to go to anyone else, especially Skye, but he doesn't know what else to do. He wanted to prove that he could take care of his son, but this one situation is showing him that maybe he doesn't have what it takes to be a dad.

Maybe it's time for him to admit defeat, that he can't actually do this.

"Guess it's time to find your mom, then," he says with a heavy sigh, bouncing the boy in his arms, hoping he'll calm down before he actually finds Skye. He doesn't want her to see him so frazzled like this.

Moving out of his room, he makes sure to lock the door behind him before heading down the hallway in search of his son's mother.

He knows she had some kind of meeting today, which is part of the reason for him taking care of Adian for a few hours on his own. He just can't remember which room her meeting was taking place in.

Adian's cries increase in volume by the time he reaches the lounge.

He sighs heavily. "I'm trying to find your mom, bud. Just hang on, okay?"

"What's going on in here?"

His head shoots up to find May standing in the doorway to the lounge, the same hard, expressionless look on her face that she always has. Her eyes instantly lock onto Adian. "He's crying."

Grant huffs. "Yes, I'm aware."

"How long has he been crying?"

"I don't know. He woke up from his nap and just started crying. He's not hungry, I don't think. I'd kind of need Skye for that if he was. He doesn't need to be changed either. I don't know what's wrong. And I can't find Skye. She's ten times better at this than I am."

"Give him to me," May says without any hesitation, moving toward them.

His breath catches and his hold on Adian tightens just a little. "What?"

She nearly rolls her eyes at him. "Do you want him to stop crying?"

"Yes."

"Then give him to me." She holds her arms out and quirks a brow when he hesitates.

Grant sighs before carefully transferring Adian into the older woman's arms, instinctively instructing her on how to position her arms.

"This may come as a shock to you, Ward, but I do know how to hold a baby."

He nods once. "Right, sorry."

"Don't be. It's not something I openly advertise."

A few seconds after being in May's arms, Adian's cries start to die down to small whimpers before silencing completely.

His jaw drops in amazement. "How did you...I've been holding him this entire time and I haven't been able to get him to be quiet."

"He wanted attention," she tells him.

"I was giving him attention," he counters.

"But you were scared."

His back straightens on a long ago instilled instinct. "I was not."

"Yes, you were," she says firmly, glancing up at him. "He could tell you were scared to hold him, so he was uncomfortable. That's why he kept crying."

"I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I was hoping Skye would know."

"You need to have more trust in yourself to take care of him on your own," she tells him. "There could be a moment where you have to, even if it's for a few hours or a few days. You need to learn to trust your instincts as a parent. Otherwise, you'll always be on edge and second-guessing yourself at every turn."

He blinks. "That's...that's actually good advice."

Before either of them can say anything more, Skye rushes into the room panting heavily, a slight sheen to her forehead that she quickly wipes away.

"What happened?" she asks, her eyes instantly finding him.

"What do you mean?"

She moves closer to him. "I was leaving my meeting and an agent came up to me and said they heard Adian crying, that you were wandering the halls with him. Is he okay?"

"He's fine," May answers before he can and watches as Skye registers that the older woman is holding Adian securely in her arms, bouncing him gently.

Skye's brows furrow. "May? Why are you holding Adian?"

"Because his father needed a minute to calm himself down."

Skye turns to him, her eyes shining with concern. "Are you okay? What happened?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing, really. I think I just got overwhelmed. I don't know how to be a dad."

She raises a brow at him. "And you think I know how to be a mom? Because I don't. I'm new to all of this just like you are. I don't have my mom here to help me through any of this."

He nods. "I know that. I'm just...I don't know."

"Worried?" she supplies.

He shrugs. "I guess."

"You are not your father," she tells him softly, one hand resting on his arm in a comforting manner.

He gives her a small smile. "I know. I just...I think it's going to take some time for me to actually believe that. But I'll get there. I promise." He takes a deep breath, trying not to let his disappointment show when she takes her hand off his arm. He looks at May. "Thank you, for helping me. You're really good with him. And it's only your first time holding him."

"I was almost a mother once," she says without elaborating and he and Skye both know better than to ask her to say more on the subject. If she'd wanted to say more, she would have.

"Personally," Skye speaks up, "I've always felt of you as a mother figure since I never knew my own."

May smirks. "And you used to annoy me like a child should. Still do from time to time."

"That is very rude. But I will let it slide if you agree to be an honorary grandma to this little guy."

"Grandma makes me seem old."

"Um...okay. Well, there are a lot of other options of what he can call you when he gets older, we don't have to decide right now. But just so we're clear, you're agreeing to be his honorary grandma?"

May nods sharply. "Yes. Just don't think that you can pawn him off on me whenever you want. He's still your son, you have to raise him."

"Oh, no, yeah, I know. But you'll watch him sometimes, right?"

"If you need me to, yes."

"Good. That's good."

"You might have to fight Trip for babysitting, though," Grant informs her. "He and Fitz are pretty determined to be Adian's favorite."

"I can take them," May says. She looks down at Adian and gives him a rare smile. "And I'll teach you all the ways to be as stealthy as possible so that you can get things past your parents every now and again."

"Really?" Skye huffs. "We're starting already with the corrupting of my child?"

May shrugs. "I'm not his mother. It's my job to teach him things you won't, and give him things you won't."

"Wow. I see you're already giving in fully to your new role as a grandmother."

"Might as well, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Silence encompasses them, none of them knowing what to say next. He shifts on his feet, watching as Skye coos over their son with May, the older woman still wearing a smile.

Adian begins fussing a few minutes later, his face scrunching up and his fists starting to hit at the air. His face turns toward May's chest and she chuckles. "Oh, there's nothing for you there."

"And that would be my cue," Skye says. "I had a feeling he was going to start getting hungry soon." She carefully takes Adian from May and holds him against her, laughing quietly when he starts nuzzling his face against her chest, his little mouth parting ever so slightly. "I better go and feed him before he gets too cranky. Thanks for your help, May."

The older woman gives the tiniest hint of a smile and nods. "Anytime."

He presses a quick kiss to the top of his son's head before Skye carries him out the lounge and back to her room to feed him. He watches with a small smile as Skye walks out of the room, talking in hushed tones to their boy as she goes.

"Fatherhood suits you."

He turns to find May still standing in the lounge, watching him with a careful eye. "Uh, thanks."

"Despite the fact that you couldn't get him to calm down."

He scoffs. "Yeah, thanks. Like I really needed to be reminded of that."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," she tells him, like she knows that's exactly what he'd been doing. "It'll take some time to get comfortable with being a parent."

"Skye doesn't seem to be having a problem with it."

"You're not seeing everything. I'm sure she's having her struggles, you just don't see them."

"I wish I could," he admits, both to her and to himself. "Maybe then I'd be able to help her out more and she wouldn't be so tired all the time."

"She needs some time, I presume. You both do."

He nods. "Yeah, I know. And uh, thanks, again, for helping me with Adian."

She shakes her head. "It was my pleasure." Her eyes narrow quickly and his breath catches. "But if you ever hurt that boy, I will not hesitate to hurt you right back. Do you understand?"

He nods. "Yes. But you'll probably want to get in line behind Skye. And Trip and Fitz. As well as a few other agents around here."

She nods once. "Good." She walks out of the room without another word, leaving him to his own thoughts again.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair, thinking about the fact that more and more people on base are starting to voice their lack of hesitancy in doing something horrible to him if he hurts his son in any way. He's not sure whether to be happy about that because his son has so many people that care about him, or upset that people still see him as an enemy of sorts.

Apparently, nearly dying for the cause isn't good enough to get people to completely change their opinions about him. He knew it wasn't going to happen overnight, but he thought he'd have made more progress by this point.

Guess he can only keep trying. That's all he can really do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Nothing super exciting in this one, more of just Grant and Skye interacting and spending time with their baby.
> 
> Also, not sure if anyone needs it, but the pronunciation of Adian's name is basically just 'Aidan', only spelled a little differently. Had a comment about that, so I wanted to be sure you all knew. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Looking up when she hears the knock at her bedroom door, Skye crosses the room to pull it open, giving a small smile when she finds Grant standing on the other side, his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweatpants.

"Hey, you're right on time."

She lets him inside the room and then closes and locks the door behind him. She double checks the lock, though she knows no one is going to try and open it without her permission, and then turns around in time to see him lifting Adian off the bed and into his arms with a wide smile.

"There's my big guy," he says, holding their baby above his head for a moment before lowering him and pressing a kiss to his cheek as he settles him in his arms. "Have you been good for your mom?"

"He's been an angel," she tells him, smiling at the sight as she moves to the bed and sits down, leaning back against the wall. She moves a few more things out of the way to make more room. "Unless he's hungry or needs a diaper change, he hasn't been crying too much. Thank goodness."

"And what about you?" he asks her, gently bouncing Adian in his arms. "Have you been sleeping okay?"

She lets out a small sigh. "I try to nap when he does during the day. I think that's the only way I'll really be able to sleep for a while until he starts sleeping through the night. And of course, that doesn't do well for all the things I'm supposed to be doing for Coulson since it's hard to get them done when I have to take care of Adian all day. And then when I'm sleeping, I'm obviously not getting any work done."

"You know, I can always take him for a few hours so you can try to get some work done," he offers. "I'm his parent too."

She sighs. "I know, I'm sorry. I guess sometimes I forget that I have other people to rely on. Growing up I had to pretty much fend for myself or I wouldn't survive certain situations. It's kind of been my default mode to do things alone for so long."

He nods. "That makes sense. And I guess I can't really blame you when I've gone through the same thing, of only relying on myself. Just try to remember that I'm here whenever you need me, okay?"

"I will do my best."

"Good. That's all I ask." He takes a deep breath, adjusting his hold on Adian. "So, are we ready to watch the movie, then?"

She nods. "Yeah, I think so."

"Great. Are we going out to the lounge like usual?" he asks her.

She shakes her head. "Actually, I was thinking we'd watch it in here tonight. I just...I think it'll be easier to watch it in here with Adian, just in case. His stuff's either in here or next door and if he falls asleep we don't have to worry about him waking up when we take him to his room because he can just sleep here."

"No, I get it. That's fine. Do you want me to put him in the bassinet, or do you want to hold him?"

"You can keep holding him if you want to," she tells him as she begins setting up the movie on her laptop. "Now, I know this isn't going to be as grand as it is on the TV in the lounge, but it's the best we've got for right now until I decide if I want a TV in here or something."

"The laptop is fine," he assures her. She can feel the bed dip as he sits down beside her. "I don't really mind what size the screen is."

"Well, that's good. Because this is the screen size we'll be using for the foreseeable future."

"I guess I can live with that. So long as I get to spend some time with the greatest little boy in the entire world, I am perfectly fine."

She glances over her shoulder to see Grant sitting back against the headboard, his knees pulled up with Adian propped up on them. A smile is on his face as he entertains their baby. She quickly grabs her phone and snaps a photo of the moment. Despite her own feelings toward him, whatever they may be, she'll never get tired of seeing him interact with their son.

When she first found out she was pregnant, she knows that she had very mixed feelings about even entertaining the idea of letting him near their son. But now that she's seeing it happen, she's so glad that she decided to tell him and let him be a part of Adian's life. Even if she's not completely ready to let him back into her own life, she's glad that he actually wants to be a good dad and be there for their son.

"Is the movie ready?"

She shakes her head a little to focus herself back on what's happening. "Oh, uh, yeah." She sits up straighter. "Are you ready?" she asks him.

He nods. "Yeah. And I think Adian's ready for his first ever movie too," he says, turning the baby around so his back is against Grant's chest. "Aren't you, bud?"

Adian just gurgles and kicks his feet against Grant's thighs.

Skye laughs quietly, leaning down to kiss Adian's cheek. "Oh, mama is so excited to show you your first movie, baby."

"Obviously it'll be so much more exciting when he's older and can appreciate it better," Grant speaks up, "but it's still a pretty big achievement."

"It most certainly is," she says, not taking her eyes off her son as she grabs one of his tiny hands in hers. "It may not be on all the mommy blogs, but it's still an amazing milestone to celebrate," she says. "Isn't that right, baby?" She smiles at Adian, shaking his tiny hand in the air as she watches him. "You're gonna watch your first movie today and—" She gasps quietly and freezes, her eyes going wide.

"Skye? Skye, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"He's smiling."

"What?"

"He's smiling, Grant. Adian's smiling."

"He is?"

She nods, still not quite believing what she's seeing. "Yeah."

Grant shifts on the bed, adjusting his hold on Adian so he can see the boy too. "Oh, wow, he really is smiling."

"This is amazing," she breathes out. "I didn't think I could get any happier than the moment he was born. But this...there's just something so magical about seeing him smile for the first time."

"No, I totally agree. It's pretty amazing. I never thought I could feel like this. But I never want it to stop."

She looks up at him and smiles. "Well, then I guess it's a good thing that we've still got a lot of milestones to witness from our handsome boy."

He smiles back. "It certainly is a good thing." He takes a deep breath and settles Adian back against his chest. "Now, are we going to watch that movie?"

She nods and shifts so she's sitting with her back against the headboard, her legs curled up underneath her. "Yeah, of course." She quickly starts the movie and then shifts a little to get herself more comfortable on the bed.

Chancing a glance next to her, she smiles when she sees Grant leaning over Adian, talking softly to him and trying to get him to smile again.

She sighs contently as she leans back, focusing on the screen in front of her. She can't believe this is her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for you all! This one kinda moves the story along, but not by a lot.
> 
> Enjoy!

Needless to say, but the last three months have basically been heaven for him. Then again, he had a really crappy life growing up, so any situation where he's not getting beaten on or locked away somewhere seems pretty good to him.

Over the last three months, he's been able to experience being a father in all its glory. Despite some of the more rough moments, where Adian won't settle down completely or he just gets way too inside his own head, he's really enjoying being a father. It's better than he ever imagined it could be, and he knows it's only going to get better as time goes on. At least, that's what he tells himself every time Adian does something new and amazing. He tells himself that it's only going to get more amazing as each day comes and goes and Adian gets older and discovers new things about the world around him.

Even the less exciting moments are still pretty great to him. Like the current moment, of him and Adian just hanging out, the young boy napping on his chest while he does some reading to keep himself busy. It may not be the definition of exciting, but he still revels in every second he gets to spend with his son, even if the boy isn't awake.

Quiet noises pull him away from his book, looking down to see Adian squirming slightly against his chest, one of his tiny fists rubbing against his face. He waits a moment, to see if the boy will settle back down and remain sleeping. When he doesn't, Grant smiles as Adian slowly comes out of his slumber, resting one hand gently on the baby's back in case he slips.

"Hey, bud," he whispers, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head. "Did you have a good nap?" He closes his book and sets it on the floor, focusing all of his attention on the three-month-old.

He watches as Adian lifts his head and slowly smiles at him, his little eyes lighting up once he's more awake.

"There's my guy," he says, grabbing hold of Adian under the arms and lifting him so he's standing on his stomach. Adian squeals and pushes his feet against Grant's stomach, bouncing up and down a little as he does.

He laughs quietly at his son's enthusiasm. "You really like doing that, huh?" He brings Adian closer to him and blows raspberries against his onesie-clad belly, making the boy squeal and curl his legs up instinctively. His hands wave in the air before latching onto Grant's nose. "What are you doing, bud?" he asks with a quiet chuckle. "Are you trying to steal daddy's nose from him? Because I should warn you that that wouldn't be a very wise decision. Daddy is very specially trained and I'd just find wherever you put it."

Reaching down to the carpet, he grabs one of Adian's toys that the boy had been playing with earlier before napping and hands it to him after settling him against the back of the couch, sitting on his stomach still, to keep him entertained for a little bit longer.

He rests his head against the arm of the couch, keeping one hand near Adian just in case, and just smiles at the baby. Sometimes he really can't believe that this is his life now. He never thought he'd get to this point but now he has a kid. He has a son, somebody who is half of his DNA and relying on him for basically everything until he's older. It's a scary thought sometimes.

"Well, there you two are."

He watches with an amused smile as Adian perks up, the toy still hanging in his mouth as his eyes dart around the room for the source of the familiar sound.

"Who is it, bud?" he asks his son. "Who do you hear? Do you hear your mom?"

"Hello, my handsome boy." Skye quickly steps forward and scoops Adian into her arms over the back of the couch, the little boy waving his toy in the air while Skye presses kisses to his cheeks. "Oh, I hate going to meetings because I don't get to see you. Did you have fun with your dad?"

"He napped for most of it," he informs her, pulling himself up so he's sitting. "Just woke up a few minutes ago."

"I guess that means it's almost time to eat, then, huh, baby?" She holds Adian close and presses another kiss to his cheek. Adian mumbles nonsense in reply, pressing his face against Skye's neck. She laughs quietly and rubs at his back.

He smiles as he watches the two of them, never getting tired of it.

"Ward."

Pulling himself from his thoughts, he finds Coulson stepping through the doorway to the lounge, his holding a look of stern professionalism as he approaches.

"Coulson," he says with a slight nod. "What can I do for you?"

"I actually came to talk to you about something."

"Oh, uh, okay."

"Before you two start talking," Skye speaks up, looking directly at him, "I figured I'd let you say bye to Adian before I go feed him." She leans over the couch just enough for him to reach up and take Adian into his arms.

"Bye, bud," he says quietly to his son, kissing the side of his head. "Be good for your mom, okay?" He shares a smile with his son before handing him back to Skye, watching as they walk out of the lounge toward their rooms.

Taking a deep breath, he sits up a little straighter and focuses on Coulson. "You said you wanted to speak with me?"

Coulson nods. "Yes. If you're physically feeling up for it, I have a mission that I'd like you to be on."

His entire body tenses and he sucks in a sharp breath at the thought of going on another mission. The last one he went on wasn't exactly a shining success, and he almost didn't make it back to meet his son. He doesn't know if he can go through that again. If he can put Skye through that again.

"It's just a recon mission," Coulson tells him and every one of his muscles relax. "You shouldn't be gone for too long."

"Missions don't always go according to plan," he tells the older man. "Even recon missions."

Coulson nods. "Yes, I know. But this one should be fairly easy. We just need you to go and tail someone for a few days; make note of their routine and contacts and other specifics you deem may be necessary."

"That's all I need to do?" he asks.

"That's all you need to do," Coulson confirms. "Once you get that information, it'll help us to take down one of the higher players in Hydra."

He breathes in deeply a few times, weighing the options in his head. If he does this, he'll be away from Adian for at least a few days, maybe longer. But it'll be another step in making the world a slightly safer place for his son.

"Ward, I'm going to need an answer from you soon."

He looks up at the man and sighs. "Do I really have much of a choice here?"

"If you want to stay out of Vault D, then no, not really."

He sighs again. "Alright. When do you need me to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning at nine," he tells him.

He nods. "Alright. Uh, I'll start getting prepared for that, then."

"Great. Come and see me sometime tonight for the rest of the details about the mission."

"I will."

He waits for Coulson to leave the room before leaning back into the couch and letting out a breath, running a hand down his face. The last thing that he wants to do is leave his son, especially when he's so young, but he told Coulson that he'd do basically anything to stay out of Vault D and to prove himself to the team. It's not like he has much of a choice, just like Coulson said. He's still wearing his ankle monitor, put back on him right after his surgery had finished from his last mission. A mission that didn't quite go as planned. He just really hopes that this one goes better. He can't imagine not coming back and leaving Skye to raise their son all on her own. That's not fair to her. Or Adian.

Standing from the couch, he gathers up Adian's toys that got scattered around the room and carries them back to the nursery, making sure to grab his own book on the way.

Inputting the code to open the nursery door, he smiles at the sight that greets him when he opens it. Skye is standing in the middle of the room with her back mostly to him, Adian cradled in her arms. She's talking softly to the boy as he eats, swaying back and forth.

He leans against the doorway just watching the scene, wondering how exactly he got so lucky, even if he and Skye aren't actually together. Yet. He's not going to give up hope.

"I can come back later if you're still feeding him," he says softly, not wanting to startle her. He knows it's a natural thing, but he never wanted to intrude, didn't want her to think anything.

She looks at him over her shoulder. "Oh, hey. You're fine. Did you need something?"

"Just bringing some toys back," he says, holding up the toys. He steps inside the room, the door sliding shut behind him, and crosses to the side of the room to deposit the toys in one of the many storage buckets. "Is he good?" he asks, turning around to face her, making sure to keep his eyes on her face.

She nods. "Yeah. He's very hungry, though, I'll tell you that."

He chuckles quietly. "I'm sure he is." He leans back against the wall, looking down at the floor. "Hey, uh, are you busy tomorrow morning?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"I uh, I was wondering if you'd meet me in the hangar at about ten to nine tomorrow morning. I want to say bye to Adian before I leave."

"Leave? Coulson's not—"

He shakes his head, quickly cutting her off as he looks up at her. "Oh, no no no. Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound that way. He's sending me on another mission. Just recon, so no action. But I'm not sure exactly how long I'll be gone. He said it'll just be for a few days, but you never know with recon. It could take longer."

She nods. "Right. Well, I'll be sure to be there with Adian so you can see him before you go."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it."

She smiles softly at him. "It's not a problem."

"Great. So uh, I'll just...leave you to what you're doing, then. I have to go get things together for tomorrow anyway. But I'll see you in the morning."

She nods. "Yeah."

He gives her a small smile before turning and making his way out of the nursery and into his room next door.

Falling onto his bed he lets out a sigh. He really hopes that things start to get better for him as soon as possible.

.

.

.

Shuffling on his feet, Grant breathes in and out carefully, steadying his nerves. He's still not quite sure how he feels about going on another mission after how the last one turned out. But he's been trained for stealth missions like this. And he made sure not to have any photos of Skye or Adian on him or in his stuff this time, just in case something goes sideways.

"Grant."

He spins around and smiles when he sees Skye approaching with Adian in her arms, the little boy happily gumming on one of his many toys.

He breathes out. "You came."

"I said that we would."

He nods. "I know. Can I…?" He gestures to Adian, letting the question go unfinished.

She smiles as she hands Adian to him. "You know you don't have to ask all the time, he's your son too."

"I know that. I'm just still getting used to this life, I guess." He gently bounces Adian in his arms and smiles at the boy. "I'm going to miss you so much while I'm gone, bud. But I promise I'll do everything I can to make it back to you in one piece."

"You better," Skye tells him. "I will not raise your son on my own."

He sighs, running a hand over Adian's head as he kisses the boy's temple. "I don't want to leave him. Even just for a few days."

"Coulson said it's just a recon mission, right?"

He nods. "Yeah."

"So everything will be fine."

"You can't honestly believe that."

"I have to if I'm going to survive however long you're gone for. I need you back in one piece so I can dump Adian on you when I need a break."

He smiles. "I'll probably miss movie night this week," he tells her, his smile turning apologetic.

"Then we'll just have to double up next time."

"I think I can live with that." He looks down at Adian. "What do you think, bud? Do you want to watch two movies next week instead of just one?"

Adian babbles incoherently, repeating the same noises over and over as he waves his toy in the air, nearly hitting both of them in the face.

"I think we can take that as a yes," Skye says with a small smile.

"Ward, good, you're here. Skye, I wasn't expecting to see you this morning."

They both turn to see Coulson approaching them, a slight smile on his face at seeing Skye and Adian.

"Grant wanted to see Adian before leaving," Skye explains to their boss.

"Which we should probably be doing now," Coulson tells Grant. "Hurry up so we can leave."

Grant sighs as Coulson steps up onto the ramp of the quinjet, leaving him alone with Skye and Adian. He looks at his son, the little boy not paying attention to anything, simply babbling away. "Daddy loves you so much, Adian," he says quietly, pressing a kiss to the boy's forehead. "I'll see you soon, okay? Be good for your mom." He reluctantly hands Adian over to Skye, the little boy frowning a little and whimpering, looking in Grant's direction.

"You better go before it gets worse," Skye tells him.

He nods. "Yeah, okay. I'll be back in a few days," he tells her.

She gives him a small smile. "I know. Now go."

He takes a deep breath, casting one more glance at his son before turning around and making his way up the ramp of the quinjet, his heart clenching at having to leave his son. He knows it's only for a few days and then he'll be back to cuddle his boy, but he still doesn't like leaving. He just prays that this mission goes off without a hitch. He does not need anything to go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Happy Fourth of July to all my fellow Americans out there. I'm back again with a new chapter for ya! Figured I wouldn't make you wait too long or suffer through multiple chapters of not knowing how Grant's latest mission went. So here you go. Also, a new face joins the group too. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Thankfully, the mission he goes on is a success. It's just a simple recon mission like Coulson said, and nothing goes wrong. He's able to go and trail the guy for a few days, making note of all the important things he does, people he sees, and places he goes, being sure to store it away carefully on his person. He finds a motel to stay at that's close by the man's house, so that he won't have to travel too far to find him in the morning, and won't risk missing too much because of distance.

He's on his way back to the rendezvous point when a small whimpering from the dark alley next to him draws his attention. Since he's a new father, his mind immediately goes to the worst-case scenario, that someone left their baby unattended, either by accident or on purpose. He quickly pushes that thought out, not wanting to go there when his mind keeps flashing to Adian being left alone in the alley.

Following the noise that he's starting to realize doesn't actually sound like a baby, he steps carefully, not wanting to startle whatever or whoever may be hiding in the alley. "Hello?" he speaks up quietly, hoping for a response of some kind.

When he doesn't get one, he continues following the whimper, peering behind boxes and old pieces of metal, even looking behind the dumpster.

He pauses when he reaches the dumpster, his lips pulling into a frown when he recognizes the black and brown mass curled up in the corner as a puppy. It takes a moment for the breed to click in his head, but he's fairly certain it's a German Shepherd.

He kneels down beside the dumpster, holding one hand out to the puppy. "Hey there, little guy. What are you doing out here?"

The puppy jolts back and then hesitantly reaches out with its nose, sniffing at Grant's hand before nuzzling it. He smiles. He carefully reaches out with his other hand to wrap it around the puppy's behind, pulling him closer and scooping him into his arms.

The puppy squirms for a moment, startled at being picked up off the ground but quickly calms down when Grant starts stroking his fur and holding him close. He's always known about his slightly higher than normal body heat, and apparently, the puppy picks up on it too.

"How long have you been out here?" he asks, despite knowing the puppy won't be able to answer him. "We should probably get you checked over, even though you don't look to be too injured. One can never be too careful."

Cradling the puppy carefully in his arms, in case there are any injuries he didn't see, he heads back out to the sidewalk and begins his search for a veterinary clinic.

After asking a few people in passing for directions, he makes his way inside the nearest vet clinic, signing in at the front desk under a false name, hoping that no one recognizes him. He's still technically a wanted fugitive by the US Government, despite Coulson letting him out of Vault D to be with his son.

"Connor Douglas?"

He looks up from his seat in the waiting area to find a vet standing in the doorway leading to the examination room in the back of the clinic, a white coat draped on his body and a clipboard in his hands.

He stands from his seat, sharing a quick, polite smile with the doctor, and follows him into the room, immediately crossing to the other side.

"I'm Doctor Evans," the man tells him. "What brings you by today?"

"Um, I found this puppy in an alley nearby," he explains, gesturing to the dog in his arms. "He looks okay, but I wanted to bring him in just to be sure."

"Well, that was very smart of you," the vet says. "If you want to set him on the table I can do a quick examination to determine if any further action needs to be taken in regards to his health."

He nods silently, stepping forward to set the slightly squirming puppy onto the center of the examination table.

A few seconds later, Doctor Evans steps forward and begins his physical examination of the dog, asking him a few questions about the conditions the dog was found in. He can't help but be nervous for the dog, hoping that nothing is wrong with him and he'll be able to live a good life. His mind wanders to his son, how similar thoughts always run through his head when his son has to have a checkup, though it hasn't happened for a little while.

"Well, I'd say this puppy is a very healthy puppy, despite being left in an alley," Doctor Evans announces and he lets out a relieved breath of air.

"That's great, really great. Do you know how old he is? I know he's a puppy, but are you able to determine an exact age?"

Doctor Evans breathes in deeply. "I can determine an approximate age for you which would be about three months."

He lets out a small laugh. "That's about how old my son is."

"First one?" he asks.

Grant nods. "Yeah. His mom and I are pretty happy."

"You're not married, though?" he asks, gesturing to the ringless finger of Grant's left hand.

He glances down at it, images of Skye in a white dress walking toward him flashing through his head. He smiles a little. "Maybe one day. We've had a complicated past, though, so it's not in the cards right now."

"All you can really do is hope," Doctor Evans tells him. "It took me and my wife years to finally admit our feelings for each other though we'd both wanted to be together for a while. Now we have three beautiful children with a fourth on the way."

"Well, I'm glad things worked out for you."

"Me too. And I'm sure things will work out for you too." He takes a deep breath and focuses on the puppy. "As for this little guy, he is given a complete bill of health. I just want to keep him a few more hours to get some extra fluids in him and then he'll be good to go. I haven't found any tags or tracking chips, and I haven't seen or heard anything about a missing dog recently, so we can probably set him up in one of our kennels here until we can get him over to the local shelter."

Grant shifts on his feet. "Actually, I was hoping that I could take him with me. My son...I think he'd really benefit from having a dog. Our living arrangements right now aren't ideal and there probably won't be any other kids around for a while, so I think having a friend like this would do him some good as he gets older."

Doctor Evans smiles. "I think that sounds like a great idea. Let me get him set up with his IVs in the backroom and then I can help you get the paperwork started to adopt him."

"That would be great, thank you."

He waits as Doctor Evans leaves the room with the puppy before letting out a breath and leaning back against the wall behind him. He really hopes Skye doesn't kill him over this.

.

.

.

Skye laughs quietly as Adian squeals happily as she gently bounces him on her legs, his tiny fists curled up and stuffed in his mouth just like always.

"You are such a happy boy and I love it. I bet your daddy misses seeing you so happy. You'll just have to smile a lot for him when he gets back from wherever Coulson sent him. Too bad Coulson won't tell me how long it's going to be until your dad gets back. It's probably going to be a long time."

"Not as long as you'd think."

Adian squeals excitedly, bouncing eagerly as he waves his arms up and down. There's no doubt in her mind that he recognized the voice of his dad.

She looks past her son, smiling when she sees Grant stepping through the doorway of the lounge, dropping his duffel bag just inside the doorway.

"You made it back."

"Told you that I would," he says with a small smile. He strides across the room and scoops Adian into his arms, spinning him around before tossing him into the air and bringing him back down to kiss his face. "Oh, I missed you so much, bud. Did you miss daddy too?"

"Oh, he definitely did not," Skye teases him, a small smile on her own face. They share a laugh and then she leans back into the couch, watching as Grant and Adian reunite. She loves watching the two of them together. "So how did the mission go?" she asks him.

"Perfect. Not a single thing went wrong and I got what I needed for Coulson."

"Thank goodness for that," she says.

"Yeah, definitely." He shifts Adian to his hip, the little boy grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling it into his mouth. "Something interesting happened, though."

Her breath catches involuntarily. "What happened?"

"Take Adian and I'll show you." He hands Adian back over to her and then makes his way just outside into the hallway.

"What is your daddy doing, huh?" she says to Adian, settling him on her knee. "What's he got?"

"So, I found something while I was out, and I...please don't hate me for bringing him."

She quirks a brow. "Him?"

He steps back into the room and her eyes go wide at the sight of the small ball of black and brown cradled securely in his arms.

"Grant? Is that what I think it is?"

He smiles and nods. "Yeah. He's pretty cute, right?"

"I guess so. But why did you bring him with you?" she asks curiously.

He shrugs. "I thought we could keep him."

"Keep him? Grant, do you know how much responsibility dogs are? And we still have a baby to take care of too. Maybe if Adian were a little bit older I'd consider it, but I don't think we can do that."

"Why not?" Grant asks her, his lips turning down. "I can take care of him."

She sighs at his insistence. "Grant…"

Before she can say anything else, Adian squeals, leaning forward out of Skye's arms. He's not quite reaching out, but he's nearly falling out of her arms and she has to readjust her hold on him to keep him from landing face-first on the carpet.

She narrows her eyes at Grant as he moves forward with the puppy, kneeling down and holding him within Adian's reach.

"I heard people whispering."

They both look up to see Fitz entering the room, joining their little group by the couch. He sits down next to her and gives Grant a small smile. "Welcome back."

"Thanks. It's good to be back. I missed my boy," he says, leaning forward to kiss Adian's temple. "Oh, be careful, bud," he says, gently pulling Adian's hand away from the puppy's fur. "You need to be gentle with the puppy."

"You guys got a puppy?" Fitz asks and she groans internally at the way his eyes light up.

"No, Fitz, we didn't get a puppy," Skye tells him. "Grant found him on his mission and brought him back here without any kind of warning to me at all."

Grant shrugs. "I wasn't sure what you'd say. I couldn't just leave him there. I found him in an alley all alone. They were going to put him in a shelter but there's no guarantee that he would have been adopted by anyone."

"I think you should keep him," Fitz says. "Adian seems to really like him. Though, he doesn't know what a dog is. Yet. Probably. He could use a friend."

Skye sighs as she watches her son repeatedly patting the puppy's fur while babbling incoherently. "I guess...I guess if there really isn't another choice."

Grant grins at her. "You really mean it?"

She nods. "Yeah. But you need to talk to Coulson first because obviously, his word is final since he runs this whole place."

Grant stands up immediately, the puppy still in his arms, and she tries to reign Adian in as he starts fussing. "Don't worry. I will. I'll go do that right now. I have to debrief with him about the mission, anyway." He turns around and makes his way toward the doorway.

"And you need to come up with a name too!" she calls out after him. She sighs and relaxes in her spot, handing Adian over to Fitz when he begins squirming. He quiets down not long after he's in Fitz's arms, immediately fascinated by Fitz's scraggly beard.

"Now we're going to have a puppy to worry about too," she mumbles, leaning back against the couch. She tilts her head and smiles at Fitz playing with Adian, mumbling quietly to the boy. She reaches out and runs a hand over the back of Adian's head. "But I guess it's worth it to see this little guy so happy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! It's been about two weeks, I know, but I've been really busy with work lately and also with some other fics that I've been writing for a different fandom. But I'm back. This chapter here introduces us to the next little piece of the plot. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

"Good boy, Max," Grant says with a small smile, rewarding the puppy with another treat as he rubs his head affectionately, squatting down and bending his head so he's at eye level with the dog. "You are getting so good at this."

"You've picked out a name, then."

He looks over his shoulder to see Skye standing in the doorway to the lounge, Adian sitting contently on her hip, gumming on one of his many toys, his stuff monkey from Fitz squished between their two bodies.

He smiles at her, standing up straight. "Hey. Yeah, I didn't want something too complicated. Something simple but nice that's easy for him to respond to and recognize as his name."

"Yet you came up with 'Adian' for our son."

It takes him a second to realize she's just teasing him about their son's name and he huffs out a laugh. "Yeah."

She moves into the room and lies Adian down on his back under the jungle playmat after pulling it to the center of the room. She sets the monkey down next to him and then moves to sit on the couch. "So how long have you been working on training him?" she asks him.

"Just the last few days," he tells her, shifting a little on his feet. "He's been doing surprisingly well, actually. I wasn't sure how cooperative he would be, you never really know with puppies, but he's been doing really well with listening to commands and following them."

"That's good."

He nods. "Yeah. And I—"

He's cut off by a loud shriek that quickly turns into a full-blown belly laugh. His eyes immediately find his son.

Adian's still lying on his back under his jungle play mat, but Max is right up against his head, licking at his face and rubbing his head against the baby.

"Is he laughing?" Skye asks.

He nods. "Yeah. I think so. And that's his first laugh, right?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Wow. That's an amazing sound."

"It definitely is," he agrees with a wide smile. He reaches down to scoop Max up. "But I don't think that we should let Max lick Adian's face right now."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Skye tells him, reaching down to rub Adian's belly.

He watches with a smile as she makes silly faces at Adian, making the boy smile and laugh. He loves both of them so much, way more than he ever thought he could love anyone. Of course, he's not going to tell Skye how much he loves her, not with everything they've gone through. He doesn't want to push her away or scare her off by telling her how much he loves her. They're not even together, he doesn't want to risk anything going wrong.

"Grant?"

He lifts his head to look at Skye. "Hmm? What?"

"I was asking you how therapy is going."

"Oh. It's uh, it's going good. I guess," he says with a small shrug. "It's hard to talk about some of the stuff that we do. But afterward, I don't feel as weighed down by it anymore"

She gives him a small smile. "That's good."

"Yeah. We've mostly been talking about more recent stuff, but the last couple of sessions we've been starting to talk about the part that my family played in everything." He avoids making eye contact with her. He's never wanted her to know the full extent of what his family was like. Aside from the little he told her at the Providence base, he hasn't told her anything else. Just from talking to Lisa, he's discovered how deep it all really goes.

"That must be pretty intense, then," she says to him.

He nods. "Yeah. It can be."

"Do you...do you still talk to any of them?"

He shakes his head. "No. Even if I knew how to contact them, I don't know if I'd want to."

"What about your sister?" she asks carefully. "I know you've talked a lot about your parents and your brothers...and how you basically don't want to see any of them anymore. But what about your sister?"

He remains silent, not sure exactly what to say in response to her question. There are so many things that he could say about the subject, but he doesn't really know where to start. Not with Skye.

"Grant, are you okay? I'm sorry if I hit a nerve or something. I just...I've never heard you talk about her. I think you've only mentioned her once very briefly. I'm a little curious."

He shakes his head. "No, you're fine. You've never heard me talk about her because she was the most innocent one out of all of us. She got away from the family the first moment she saw an opportunity to do so. I don't think my parents ever forgave her for leaving when they basically had her entire future planned out. But I'm glad that she got away."

"Have you ever thought about trying to find her again? To try and reconnect?"

"I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want to talk to me if I did find her," he says honestly. After everything that happened, everything that he did, he wouldn't be surprised if she slammed the door in his face if he ever found her.

"Would you...would you be upset with me if I tried to find her? So you could try and talk to her?"

"No, I wouldn't be upset. But you probably won't be able to find her. When she left she fell completely off the map. I'm pretty sure she may have even changed her name too. She's been doing everything she can to get as far away from the family name as possible. Not that I really blame her."

"Well I'm going to try anyway," she tells him. "That way you'll at least have the option of being able to talk to her. If you want to."

He shrugs. "Okay. Whatever." He shifts on his feet. "I'm going to go and do a few things. I'll see you later?"

She nods. "Yeah. You'll come and say goodnight to Adian before he goes to bed?"

"Absolutely."

"Great. I'll see you then."

He nods once before turning around, Max securely in his arms, and heads out of the lounge and down the hall toward his room. He knows it's not one of his scheduled sessions with Lisa, but she did tell him to call her whenever he needs to talk and she's not at the base. And this is definitely one of those times.

.

.

.

Skye lets out a heavy sigh as she runs a hand through her hair. She glances down at her son lying next to her on the large bed, babbling quietly to himself as he gums on a toy.

"I wish this was easier, baby," she says.

Adian turns to look at her immediately when she speaks, his babbling increasing for just a moment before quieting back down.

"I wish your aunt was easier to find. And yes, you have an aunt, an actual aunt related by blood. I'm sure she's a nice lady who would love you as soon as she saw you."

She turns back to her computer and continues typing on the keyboard, her brows furrowed in confusion and frustration when she still doesn't find anything.

It's been a few days since she told Grant that she was going to try and find his sister. It definitely hasn't been an easy task. Grant wasn't kidding when he said that his sister basically fell off the face of the planet. She hasn't had very much luck, unfortunately, in trying to find Grant's sister.

She ran facial recognition on an old photo of Rose that she put through a predictive aged-up software, hoping to find at least a few possible hits.

But nothing yet. Unfortunately.

Just when she's about to give up and call it a day, again, she gets an alert on her laptop. The program she'd been using lights up, a few words blinking across the screen. Her eyes go wide as she stares at it.

"I think this is it, Adian," she says, glancing over at her son. "Let's go find your dad."

She quickly transfers the information to her tablet before climbing off the bed and gathering Adian in her arms. She struggles for a brief minute to get him settled into the carrying wrap that she got at her baby shower so she can have both of her hands free to use, and then picks up her tablet on her way out of the room.

She checks Grant's room first, hoping he'll be there so she doesn't have to search the rest of the base.

Unfortunately, he isn't there.

She looks down at Adian with a small frown. "Do you know where your daddy is?"

Adian just babbles quietly in response, his head resting against Skye's chest as he looks up at her. She smiles at him and presses a kiss to the top of his head.

"Maybe we'll just sneak a peek at the location on his tracking anklet."

She opens up a new program on her tablet, quickly pulling up the information of Grant's tracking anklet, finding him located in the gym.

She looks back at Adian. "Of course he's working out. Let's go see him."

They pass by a few agents on their way to the gym. She exchanges tight smiles with them as she goes. Things aren't as tense with all the agents anymore, thankfully, but there is still an awkwardness there because no one else is quite as comfortable with Grant being around as she is. She knows it'll take some time for everyone else to get to that point. They all seem to have warmed up to Adian, though, so she's at least grateful for that.

When she reaches the gym, she smiles a little at the sight of Grant going at it on the punching bag in front of him.

"What did that bag ever do to you?" she speaks up, getting his attention.

He steadies the bag and turns to look at her with a small smile. "Skye, hey. What are you doing here?"

"I have something to talk to you about."

"Okay. Give me a second."

She moves to one of the benches off to the side, sitting down and removing Adian from his wrap to hold him in her lap, her tablet lying next to her. She bounces her son on her knees as she makes a few funny faces at him, pressing kisses to his cheeks.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

She looks up to see Grant sitting down next to her, draping a towel around his neck, a plain gray t-shirt covering his body now. She passes Adian over to him as she picks up her tablet, opening the program again.

"Well, I've spent the last few days trying to find your sister," she tells him, figuring it best to just rip the band-aid off and tell him instead of beating around the bush. "And I think I found a general location of where she's living now. I haven't narrowed it down yet to a more specific location, but I can if you want me to."

"Uh...okay. Um, thanks, I guess."

She looks up to see him with a faraway look in his eyes, holding Adian as close as he can. "Grant, are you okay?"

He nods. "Yeah, I think so. I just...what if she hates me? What if she doesn't want to see me? What if I ruined everything completely because of what I've done?"

Before she can try to answer him, he's shaking his head, burying his face in Adian's tiny body and breathing in deeply.

"Obviously I don't know what's going to happen," she tells him quietly. "But I think that you should at least try. Then you'll know for sure. And I can be there with you if you want some support. I have to go do a few things for Coulson, but can you put Adian down for a nap in a little bit?"

He nods his head silently.

"Okay." She stands up from the bench and drops a kiss to the top of Adian's head. "I'll see you later, then," she says to Grant.

Turning around, she makes her way out of the gym and back down the hallway to her own room. She really hopes that she did the right thing here, that she didn't make a big mistake in trying to find Grant's sister. She wants this to work out. She needs it to work out. For Grant's sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one brings us another step forward to meeting a new face that was really fun for me to write.
> 
> Enjoy!

His sister is all that's been occupying his mind recently. More than she ever has. He's definitely thought about her before, thought about what she could be doing with her life now that she doesn't have their family trying to force her to be someone she isn't. But he's never thought about her as much as he has lately. He's never thought about all the possibilities of what her life could be like, how much better off she is without their family's influence hanging over her head.

Ever since Skye told him that she found a general location of where his sister might be, he hasn't been able to stop thinking about all the possibilities of what could happen if he decides to go and see her. She could be happy to see him after all these years, to see him all grown up with a kid of his own. She could cry with happiness. Or she could cry because she's upset with him. She could be upset that he found her. She could think he's a bad person. She could call the police immediately to have him locked up. She could inadvertently keep him away from his son by sending him to prison. He does not want that to happen.

"Do you think you can do that?" Lisa asks him on the other end of his phone, pulling him out of his head. It wasn't the day for one of his usual sessions, but she told him to call her whenever he needs to if he's ever having problems.

He nods even though she can't see him. "Yeah, I think so."

"That's good."

"Could I...could I call you after I see her? If I need to?"

"Of course, Grant. You know I'm always a phone call away if you need to talk outside of our scheduled appointments about something specific."

"I know. Uh, thanks."

"It's not a problem. I'll talk to you soon."

"Yeah, bye."

Pulling the phone down from his ear, he ends the call and rests his head in his hands, staring down at the carpet of his room. He has a big decision ahead of him. Lisa helped him a little, helping him work through all of his thoughts about possibly seeing his older sister again. He hasn't seen her in a long time. They're both very different people now. He knows that for a fact.

Letting out a heavy sigh, he stands from his bed and makes his way out of the room in search of Skye. At this point, there are only a few places she could really be, not wanting to take Adian anywhere too dangerous.

He checks her room first, and the nursery, not finding her in either place. So he checks the lounge next, seeing as that's where he can usually find her. She says that it's so Adian doesn't learn being holed up in his room from an early age. She said that she wants him to have as much human interaction as possible.

As soon as he steps into the lounge he sees her sitting on one of the couches with her laptop in front of her.

His brows furrow when he doesn't see their son anywhere near her.

"Where's Adian?" he asks immediately, moving further into the room, Max trailing right behind him. He doesn't see the need in putting a leash on the puppy, he's doing well with just following him whenever he goes anywhere on base. Max is surprisingly well-behaved for still being a puppy. He's not complaining, though.

Skye jumps a little and turns to look at him. "You scared me."

"Sorry. Where's Adian?"

"Fitz and Trip have him. Claimed they wanted some quality time with their nephew. Which is perfectly fine with me because it means I can work on this." She gestures to the screen of her laptop and he doesn't bother asking what it is. He knows he wouldn't understand it even if she tried explaining it in the most simple terms that she could.

"Oh. Okay."

"Did you need something?" she asks him, shifting on the couch to look at him better. "Did you want to spend time with Adian? Because I think he's—"

He shakes his head. "No, I don't. I mean, I always want to spend with him, but I actually came to find you. I wanted to talk to you."

"What's up?"

"Uh, I just got off the phone with Lisa," he tells her, sitting down on the couch and lifting Max into his lap, needing to run his fingers through the dog's fur to keep himself steady.

She nods. "Okay."

"We were talking about Rose, my sister. I told her how you think you found her, and think that I should try to reconnect."

"What did she say?"

"She said it's up to me, obviously. But that I won't know how things are going to turn out unless I try and reconnect with her. That I can spend all this time worrying about her hating me, but I won't know if she actually does unless I try to get into contact with her."

"So then what do you want to do?" she asks him.

His brows furrow together as he shifts. "I think...I think I want to try and reconnect with her. She's my sister, and I love her. She was one of the only good parts I remember about my childhood."

"I'm sorry."

He shakes his head. "Don't be. You couldn't have done anything about it."

"Still, it sucks."

"It did. But I'm moving past it all. At least, I'm really trying to. Lisa's been helping me a lot."

She smiles. "That's good."

"Yeah. And uh, I was wondering, if maybe you wanted to come with me. And Adian too. I want you guys to meet her, especially if she's still like I remember her. I think it'll be nice for Adian to meet his aunt, even if he won't really understand yet who she is."

"I think it'll be nice too," she tells him with a small smile. "And I'll talk to Coulson about getting a few days off to go see your sister."

He nods. "Yeah, that'd be great. I'm uh, I'm going to go and check on Adian, see if Fitz and Trip are doing okay with him."

"Okay. Give our boy a kiss for me?"

He smiles. "Yeah, of course."

.

.

.

"So you're going to visit your sister?"

Grant nods at the young engineer on the other side of the large table, gently bouncing Adian on his knee to keep the boy entertained while making sure to keep him as far away from the equipment as possible. "Yeah. We're leaving in a couple of days."

"How long are you going to be gone for?"

He shrugs. "Not sure. Guess it depends on how Rose feels about seeing me again after all these years."

"You've changed," Fitz tells him. "She'll want to see you."

"I really hope you're right, Fitz."

"I am. You'll see."

Grant laughs quietly and looks down at his son. "Uncle Fitz is really full of himself, isn't he?"

"No no," Fitz speaks up, his eyes wide. "Don't tell him that. Don't tell him that."

"Relax, Fitz," Trip pipes in with a smile. "Adian most likely doesn't know what Grant even said."

"I think he knows I'm talking to him," Grant tells the other two men, continuing to smile at the little boy staring up at him. "I just don't think he understands all of my words yet."

"But he will in time," Trip says. "He seems like a smart kid."

"He is very smart," Grant agrees, despite there being no real evidence yet of Adian's intelligence. He's definitely feeling the effects of being a new dad, being so sure of how amazing your kid is going to be despite how young they still are.

He sighs when Adian turns his focus back to the toy in his hands, babbling incoherently. "I'm just really worried about seeing Rose again after so long," he tells his friends. "She was always the best of the four of us, never bought into what our parents said or did. She was always looking for a way out of the family, and when she found it she took it. I've missed her a lot, but I don't know if she's missed me too. After everything that's happened recently, I'm worried that Christian got to her somehow to warn her about me."

"You said that it took Skye a while to find her, right?" Trip asks.

He nods. "Yeah."

"And Skye's one of the best hackers out there. If it took her so long to find Rose, then maybe Christian wasn't able to and he hasn't gotten to her."

Grant tilts his head, thinking over the idea of his sister being untouched by Christian's corruption. "I guess that might be true. She never really was his biggest fan, so it's possible that even if he did find her, she didn't let him change her mind on anything."

Trip smiles and claps him on the back. "That's the spirit, man. The power of positive thinking is a wonderful thing."

"Unfortunately, I haven't had too much experience with that, so I think I'll take your word for it for now." He takes a deep breath and shifts Adian on his lap. "I should get going, though," he tells the other two men. "Skye wanted me to get Adian down for a nap. Thanks for listening to me, though. I appreciate it."

"Anytime, man," Trip tells him. "We're here for you whenever."

He smiles. "Thanks. Say bye to your uncles, Adian." He grabs Adian's hand and carefully moves it in a waving motion. He laughs quietly when Adian squeals, dropping a kiss to the boy's head as he carries him to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! This one...this one you get to meet Rose Ward and I'm really happy for you guys to see how I've written her. Obviously, we never met her on the show so we don't know what she was like, so I did my own thing with her. Hope you like her.
> 
> Enjoy!

Pulling Adian's hands away yet again from the quinjet controls in front of them, Skye hands him one of his previously discarded toys, hoping it'll keep him distracted for at least a little while longer.

The last thing they need is the plane going down because a baby got ahold of the controls.

With Adian successfully distracted by the colorful toy, she chances a glance over at Grant sitting in the pilot seat. His jaw is hard as he stares straight through the window in front of them, his knuckles turning white from how tightly he's gripping the steering sticks.

She knows he's been antsy the last few days, in preparation of seeing his sister again after spending so long apart. It's hard for her to imagine how he must be feeling, seeing as she's an only child; at least, that's what she's always assumed. For all she knows, she could be one of many siblings that would go to the ends of the earth for each other.

She likes to think she would have thrived in a big family, considering she's been on her own practically her entire life. The closest she ever came to a family was when she joined the Rising Tide. And then SHIELD became her mismatched little family. And now she actually has a family, her son. Hers and Grant's son.

"You okay?" she asks the man next to her, her brows furrowing together when he doesn't respond immediately.

"Grant."

He jumps a little in his seat and she has to fight back a laugh. It's not every day that someone can startle the great Grant Ward. "Hmm?"

"I asked if you're okay."

"Oh." He lets out a breath and hits the autopilot button, turning his seat to face her fully and leaning back. "Honestly? I don't know. There's a part of my brain that keeps telling me this is a bad idea, that it won't turn out well. I've only told Lisa about this...but it always sounds like Garrett."

She sees him swallow thickly at the mention of his deceased SO. She knows how much the older man meant to Grant, but she'd be wrong if she said she wasn't glad the man is dead. He put Grant through hell and manipulated him for his own twisted reasons.

"Hey, you don't have to talk to me about this if you don't want to," she assures him. "I'm always here to listen, but I don't want you to feel obligated to tell me anything you don't feel comfortable talking to me about."

He shakes his head, sitting up a little in his seat. "No, I want to. I trust you, Skye."

"I…" She opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to find the words. Can she say that she trusts him completely again? She doesn't hate him anymore, she knows that, and she trusts that he'll do anything to protect her and their son. But does she trust him completely without any hesitation in other aspects?

"It's okay," he says, cutting off her inner thoughts. "You don't need to say anything. I know it's going to take time to earn your trust again. But I want to do it. I want to earn your trust again."

She gives him a small smile. "Then I'll just say that you're definitely on the right path to earning it again."

He smiles back. "Good."

Adian's babbling pulls them out of their serious conversation to see him smiling wide at them, waving his toy in the air.

"Hey, bud," Grant says, his entire demeanor changing when he focuses on the boy. "What do you have there?"

"Could you take him for a minute?" she asks, shifting Adian in her lap. "I think we're almost there and I just want to make sure that I actually packed everything we'll need for him."

He nods, immediately taking Adian into his arms. "Not a problem," he says. "It's never too early to start flying lessons."

She shakes her head with a smile, watching as Grant settles Adian in his lap and begins explaining the different controls to him.

As she stands up and makes her way into the back of the plane, she smiles to herself at how soft Grant gets when he's around Adian. The complete opposite of the man she first met.

If his sister can't see how much he's changed, then she doesn't know what they're going to do.

.

.

.

Breathing in deeply, he flexes his fingers a few times, itching for something to hold onto to help his anxiety at seeing his sister again.

They'd left Max back on the base, figuring it best to not bring the still rowdy puppy with them on such a serious, emotionally charged occasion.

He would have loved to be holding Adian at a moment like this, but the little boy is currently napping in his mom's arms. He'd been fed and burped on their way to the house and fell asleep right after.

"Take however long you need," Skye says from beside him as they stand on the front sidewalk outside the house. "We know she's home, so take some time to relax before we see her."

He nods. "I know. It's just...I can't believe this is actually happening."

"Neither can I," she tells him. "I mean, I'm actually going to meet someone from your family. From how you've always talked about them, I really never thought this day would come."

"Believe me, I never planned on it happening either." He takes a deep breath. "But it's happening now. And if she's still how I remember her always being, then I think you're really going to like her." He looks down at his son. "I just hope she likes Adian too."

"I'm sure she will," she tells him. "Adian's way too precious."

He nods. "I guess we should probably get up there then, huh?"

"Whenever you're ready."

He squares his shoulders and takes another deep breath, letting it out slowly as he stares at the modest-looking two-story house in front of him. He slowly moves forward on the sidewalk, hearing Skye's shoes hitting against the pavement as she follows behind him, obviously allowing him to take the lead with all of this. He just doesn't know if he wants to have the lead. So many things could go wrong and he's not sure if he's prepared to deal with all of them.

Reaching the front door, he takes one more deep breath before knocking, taking a small step back once he does. He glances over at Skye who gives him a small, reassuring smile before he focuses back on the door.

His palms start to sweat the longer he has to wait, but eventually, the door is pulled open and he sucks in a sharp breath at the tall, raven-haired woman standing on the other side. She still looks so much like the young woman that left home without a second thought all those years ago, but she's also grown up a lot.

He does his best to give her a smile. "Hey, Rosie."

"Grant? Is that really you? You look so…different."

He huffs out a laugh, his smile turning genuine. "Well, it has been a while since we've seen each other."

"I know, but...wow. Come here." She pulls him into a hug, essentially pulling him into the house. He tenses for a moment, surprised that she's actually hugging him. Willingly. But then he relaxes and wraps his arms around her, breathing in her scent and relishing in the fact that he's actually with his sister again. He never thought this day would happen. Not in a million years.

"What are you doing here?" she asks him when they pull out of the hug. She closes the front door, casting a quick glance at Skye and Adian as they step inside the house.

"I decided to come and see you."

"You certainly took your time doing so. I mean, I knew it would take a little bit of time, Thomas made sure I knew about you going to juvie and then somehow disappearing in broad daylight once he and I reconnected. He was pretty upset about the whole thing. What was that about? How did you just disappear like that?"

He rubs at the back of his neck, his chest tightening at the thought of his former SO. "It's kind of a long story."

"Which you can tell me later," she says. "I guess I should just be glad that you're actually here right now. And with a beautiful woman and baby in tow, no less."

He nods. "Right. Uh, Rose, this is my son Adian Leo. And this is Skye, she's his mom."

"Wow." She steps closer to Skye and peers down at Adian, a smile on her face. "Oh, he's so beautiful." She looks up at him, her smile turning reminiscent. "I remember when you were born and he looks just like you did."

He can't help the smile that grows on his lips at the compliment. "Everyone keeps saying that."

"Because it's true, Grant," Skye tells him. "I mean, I haven't seen any pictures of you as a baby, but I'm pretty sure this is exactly what you looked like."

"Oh, it is," Rose says. "I'm Rose, by the way. I'm not sure how much Grant has told you about me."

"Enough to know that you're going to be an awesome aunt."

Rose beams. "I'm an aunt." She spins to him with slightly wide eyes. "You're a dad."

He chuckles. "I know. I'm still getting used to it."

"Being a parent is pretty wild, huh?"

His brows furrow as he looks at his sister, really taking in her appearance. "How do you know?" he asks her. It's not accusatory or laced with any kind of venom, he could never be like that with Rose. Not by a long shot.

She just smiles at him. "We've got a lot to catch up on, baby brother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! I'm so glad you're all liking Rose so far. She's been pretty fun to write for. And I'm skipping over their actual time with Rose, and just showing their last day, to kind of move things along. But I might write some pieces later on showing their time spent with Rose. Haven't decided yet.
> 
> Enjoy!

Breathing in deeply as she slowly starts coming out of her deep slumber, Skye takes a moment to let the rest of her body catch up, despite not wanting to actually get up. The bed in the guest room at Rose's house is far more comfortable than the beds at the base are. She is really going to miss this bed when they leave later that day.

Shifting on the mattress, she frowns when a heavy, slightly unfamiliar weight across her middle keeps her from moving any further. She starts to panic internally until memories from the night before start to come back to her little by little.

Grant had offered to take the floor for the couple of nights they'd stayed with Rose, allowing her to have the bed. But last night, their last night staying with Rose, she felt bad that he'd been sleeping on the floor the entire time and told him he could share the bed with her for the night. He'd hesitated before accepting the offer, the two of them doing everything possible to stay on their own sides of the bed as they were falling asleep.

But apparently, they'd gravitated toward each other during the night since his arm is draped securely over her waist, his hand splayed across her stomach. The sight makes her heart ache, knowing that he wasn't as present as he could have been while she was pregnant with Adian.

Of course, if things were different, they probably would have been waking up like this every morning, his hand covering her stomach each and every time, subconsciously protecting their child as he slept. They would have been happy right from the get-go had he not done a lot of the things that he did. But there's no use in dwelling on that now. It won't change anything that's already happened.

Swallowing back the tears that are fighting to be set free, she does her best to shift in the bed and nudge Grant's arm.

"Grant," she whispers, trying to get his attention. He doesn't move. "Grant," she repeats a little bit louder.

His brows furrow for a moment before he's slowly opening his eyes and looking at her. "Skye?"

"Could you…?" she trails off, gesturing to the arm that's still wrapped around her.

His eyes go wide and he quickly moves back, raising up on his other arm. "Sorry."

She shakes her head. "It's fine. I'm uh...I'm going to go and check on Adian. I haven't heard him yet this morning, so I think Rose probably has him."

"Probably," he agrees. "I'll meet you downstairs."

She nods silently, giving him a tight smile before standing from the bed and shuffling out of the bedroom and into the hallway after checking to see that Adian isn't in his portable crib.

Letting out a yawn, she moves down the hall and descends the stairs to the main level of the house. She walks in the direction of the kitchen, hearing a single, familiar voice talking in the room.

"I had a feeling he was with you," she announces her presence, smiling at the sight of Rose bouncing Adian in her lap from her place at the kitchen table.

The older woman smiles at her. "I figured I'd let you and Grant sleep in a little bit. Speaking of…" she trails off, giving Skye a knowing look.

Skye shakes her head as she moves forward to take Adian into her arms, the little boy instinctively curling up against her. "Nothing happened, I promise. I let him share the bed with me so he wouldn't have to sleep on the floor again. That's all."

Rose nods but doesn't look convinced in the slightest. "Uh-huh. So you don't have any feelings for my brother? None whatsoever? Because I've seen the way you two have been interacting since you've been here. And I've seen how he looks at you even when you  _are_  looking at him. You can't honestly tell me that there's nothing going on there. You two have a child together."

She adjusts her son against her, holding him close. "Adian is the product of a single moment of bliss that happened before our lives went to hell and your brother broke my heart. It took a long time but I'm finally getting back to a place where I don't want to break down crying when I see or think about him. He's a great father and a good friend. But that's all we are right now. We're just friends." Her brows furrow as she thinks over the idea. They've never actually talked about what they are to each other, but she figured there's really no label for it. Their whole situation is a bit of a mess.

"Okay," Rose concedes, her hands in the air. "I'm sorry. I just...I don't think I've ever seen my brother so happy before. Even when we were kids, he was hardly ever happy like he is now."

"I think a lot of that has to do with this handsome guy right here," she says with a smile at her son, bouncing the boy a little. She sighs when he whines and paws at her shirt. "Of course, of course. Give momma a second and then she'll feed you."

"Speaking of hungry children, mine will probably be up soon looking for food as well."

Skye looks up at her as she adjusts her top to let Adian latch on. Rose made it pretty clear from the moment they met that Skye didn't need to shy away with anything involving motherhood from her, seeing as she'd gone through it all herself. The first time she'd nursed Adian in front of the other woman had been a little weird, seeing as she's usually in a room by herself, but she hadn't had the option at the time. She definitely feels a lot different about the whole thing.

"I'm honestly dreading Adian growing up for the sole fact that he's probably going to eat a lot. If his appetite is anything like it is now, then I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine," Rose tells her. "Honestly, people exaggerate when they talk about what it's like to raise boys. If you ever get overwhelmed, though, and need some tips or advice, I'm only a phone call away."

Skye smiles at her. "Thank you."

"Of course. We're family. Sisters gotta look out for each other"

Her smile drops a little. "Rose, we're not actually…"

"Stop." Rose holds a hand up, a serious look on her face as she looks directly at Skye. "You may not be married to my brother, or even in a relationship with him, but you're the mother of my nephew. That makes us family in my book."

Her smile grows again. "That works for me."

.

.

.

Skye smiles as she watches Rose hug Adian and plant kisses all over his face, whispering quietly to him as she rocks from side to side. The last few days have been pretty great, having some time to just relax and not worry about everything else that's going on. Especially getting to spend time with Rose and really get to know her and know more about Grant as a child. But they need to get back. They can't stay forever, not with the two of them essentially still being fugitives.

"Promise me you'll text me constant updates about Adian and let me FaceTime with him every once in a while so he doesn't forget me?"

Skye snorts. "Now you're sounding like his parent."

Rose smiles. "I can't help it. He's just way too cute."

She smiles proudly and runs her hand over the top of her son's head. "Yes, he is." She carefully takes her son from his aunt and settles him in her arms. "If he keeps up his streak of looking like Grant, then I'm probably going to come close to losing my mind a few times as he gets older."

She and Rose share a laugh before stepping into a hug. Spending so much time with the older woman brought back those feelings she used to have when she was younger, of wanting a sibling. She likes to think she would have thrived having a sibling. Especially if they'd grown up together.

"It was so good to finally meet you," Skye tells her when they pull out of the hug.

"Same to you. And I hope to see you again soon."

"We will definitely make a plan," she promises. "Now that you're back in his life in a positive way, I don't think Grant is going to want to stay away for too long."

Rose nods. "Good." She glances over her shoulder. "Matthew, come and say goodbye to your cousin."

The young boy runs over to them and smiles up at Adian. "Bye to your cousin."

She and Rose both laugh at Matthew's antics. It has definitely been fun getting to know the young boy during their stay. Grant was pretty happy to hear that he's an uncle and had made sure to spend as much time as he could with Matthew while they were there and learn about everything he likes. He called it 'making up for lost time'.

"It was really great to meet you, Matthew," Skye says to the young boy as she bounces Adian a little in her arms.

"Uh, you too." He ducks his head momentarily before looking back up. His eyes light up a second later. "Uncle Grant!" He darts across the lawn to where Grant is loading their things into the back of the car.

"I love that he took so quickly to Grant," Rose tells her. "I was a little worried at first, I wasn't sure if Matthew had ever heard any of the things Thomas used to say to me about Grant. I'm just glad that he didn't and that he was so happy to have another uncle. Eric doesn't have any siblings, so he just has mine and Grant's younger brother Thomas."

"Grant hasn't told me a lot about Thomas. I think it's a sensitive subject for him, he still has a tendency to blame himself for a lot of what happened. It's gotten better in the last few months, but I know he still holds himself partially responsible for not stopping it sooner."

"I hope they can reunite eventually," Rose admits. "I'd really love for them to reconnect. I don't think Grant would be opposed to it, but I'm not sure how Thomas would feel about it."

"Guess you'll just have to play it by ear, then," she suggests. "Maybe bring up the subject of Grant and test the waters, see how he feels."

Rose nods. "Yeah, maybe. I'll let you know how it goes."

"That'd be great. And I promise to send you constant pictures and videos of Adian."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"Skye, we should probably get going."

She looks over her shoulder and laughs at the sight of Grant standing near the car, Matthew hanging nearly upside down off one of his arms.

"I think Matthew's going to miss Grant," she tells Rose.

"Oh, he definitely is. Which is why the three of you need to visit again as soon as possible."

Skye smiles at her. "We will, I promise."

They share another goodbye, Rose taking a moment to gush over Adian one last time before they load up and head back to base.

Thankfully Adian falls asleep pretty quickly once they get going so she's able to relax a little while Grant drives.

Their visit with Rose went a lot better than she was initially expecting and she's beyond grateful for that. She knows Grant is going to do well with having his sister back in his life, especially since she seems to not hate him for everything that happened in their childhood. She knows he's a lot better off with his sister back in his life. They're all a little better off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new one for you! A couple of new characters to the story in this one. As well as a little bit of a heart-to-heart between Grant and Skye.
> 
> Enjoy!

Making his way out of the gym after his workout and then talking with Coulson, Grant lets out a heavy breath, lugging his belongings in his gym bag on one shoulder. He still doesn't feel comfortable enough around everyone to leave his things alone in a locker. He knows that a good amount of the people there aren't quite petty enough to mess with his gym things, but it helps him sleep a little better having all of his things away from where other people can easily get to them. That's not really anything new, though. But it's been heightened since he came back.

Pausing when he reaches the lounge, he smiles at the sight before him; Skye and Adian lying on the couch together, her cell phone raised in front of them as they make faces. Well, Skye's the one making faces while Adian stares blankly at the screen as he tries to reach out for it.

"What's going on in here?" he asks casually, hoping he doesn't startle them too badly as he drops his gym bag just inside the doorway.

Skye looks over at him and smiles, setting her phone down to adjust her hold on Adian. "Look who it is, baby," she says to their son, shifting him so he's standing on her chest. "It's daddy."

His smile grows wider when he sees Adian grin widely at him. "Hey, bud." He reaches out and pulls his son into his arms, bouncing him a little to make the boy giggle. "Were you having fun with mom?"

"We were just taking some pictures to send to Rose," Skye tells him from the couch, pulling herself up so she's sitting more against the arm instead of lying down. "You wanna join us for one?"

He nods. "Of course." He hands Adian back to Skye, settling the boy in her lap before moving around to stand behind them. He leans down so his face is beside Skye's, smiling into the camera she holds up in front of them.

"Smile for Auntie Rose," Skye says to Adian as she gently tickles the boy.

He takes a small step back after Skye takes the photo, not wanting her to get uncomfortable with how close he's standing. He easily scoops Adian into his arms, playfully tossing the boy into the air before catching him again.

"What have you been up to today?" Skye asks him as she types on her phone.

"Not a lot," he tells her honestly. "Just working out mostly. Coulson came by asking for information, though."

"What about?"

"Hydra, obviously. Mostly tactical stuff for the upcoming mission. He wanted to make sure I could still be of help in that aspect."

"And were you?"

He nods. "Yeah, I think so. I told him everything I could. Part of me wishes that I could be there as back up for the others. I might be able to help."

"I know. There's a part of me that wishes I could be there to help too. But we both agreed that I need to stay out of the field for as long as possible since I'm still nursing Adian most of the time and that you easing your way back into fieldwork is the best option for right now."

He sighs. "You're right, I know. I just...I know I can be good for more than just information. I know I've been doing a lot of recon missions lately, but we both know that I'm good for more than that."

"Yes, and Coulson does too. But I don't think any of us want to risk you being recognized by Hydra and then outed again. You almost didn't make it back to us last time, I can't go through that again." She turns her head away, her hair falling into his view and blocking her face from him.

He frowns at her words, his mind flashing back to the way she looked when he came out of his coma, how she hovered while he was recovering and always made sure he was okay.

"Hey," he says softly, moving to sit next to her and getting her to look at him, "I'm fine, Skye. And I'm not going anywhere."

"You can't know that," she tells him, looking up at him. "Anything can happen when you're on a mission, they're unpredictable. You know that as well as I do."

He nods. "True. But you should know by now that I'm always going to do whatever I can to make sure that I come back to you and Adian. Alright?"

She lets out a shaky breath. "Yeah, okay. I just...I guess all of this stuff with Hydra has me more shaken up than I originally thought."

"I get it. We just have to take it one day at a time, okay? We'll get through it all together and make this world just a little bit safer for our son."

She gives him a small smile. "You're right. Okay." She breathes in deeply. "I think I can do that, definitely."

"Good, I'm glad." He looks back to the boy in his arms. "Are you happy about that, too, bud? Are you happy that mom is going to try and take things easy and one day at a time?" He laughs quietly when Adian simply gurgles and grabs at the stubble on his chin. "There's nothing there for you to grab at, bud. Sorry."

He pulls Adian away from his face enough to blow raspberries on the boy's belly, making him giggle loudly and curl his little body in on itself.

He hears the quiet snap of the camera on Skye's phone, most likely taking more pictures to send to Rose, as well as to keep for herself.

"Oh, hey. Who are you lot?"

Turning toward the entryway to the lounge as he settles Adian back in his arms, Grant's brows furrow a little at the unfamiliar man standing there. "Uh, I'm Grant. Who are you?"

"Lance Hunter. But just call me Hunter."

"This is Skye, and Adian," he says, gesturing to the only other two in the room. "Are you a new SHIELD recruit? I didn't know Coulson was bringing on more people."

Hunter shakes his head. "No. I'm not SHIELD. I'm more of what you'd call...an independent contractor."

"Right. Well, welcome, then."

"Thanks, mate. How long have you been with SHIELD?" Hunter asks as he steps into the kitchenette and pulls open the door to the fridge.

"Too long, sometimes," Grant replies instantly. "It's been my life for a very long time. But ever since this little guy came into the picture" - He smiles at his son and runs a hand over his head - "my life has been all about him and SHIELD is just a job to me now."

"And what about you, love?" Hunter asks, gesturing to Skye with the bottle of beer now in his hand.

"Last year," she tells him. "It's an...interesting story, but SHIELD is my home now and very important to me. At least, that handsome little guy over there is."

"So you two are together, then?"

"No, we're not," Skye answers without hesitation and it hurts him a little at how quickly she answered, his heart sinking. He knows they aren't together, he wasn't going to say that they were, but he's a little upset with how she didn't even hesitate to deny it. "We uh, we were together for a night and I got pregnant with Adian."

"Right. Well, good thing you're not together. All relationships do is mess you up. A lot. Don't ever get married, mate," Hunter says, looking right at him. "All she'll ever do is criticize you and nag you constantly and you'll never have a minute of peace."

"I take it you're married, then?" Skye asks.

"Was. I  _was_  married. To the she-beast from hell." He takes a long swig from his beer. "So what do you two have riding on this little war we're waging?"

"A lot," Grant replies, looking down at the floor and holding Adian a little closer.

"He has a complicated past with Hydra," Skye explains to the other man. "We both have a lot riding on this, and we just want to see them taken down."

Hunter grins. "Then you're in luck. Coulson has me on this mission coming up and I don't intend to fail."

"You better not," Grant says, looking up at him. "Everyone here has a lot riding on this mission, and this war against Hydra, so you do what you can to make sure everything goes according to plan."

Hunter holds his hands up and takes a few steps back. "Easy there, mate. It's not my first rodeo. Besides, I'm not going alone. Got my two best sidekicks with me as my backup and we always-"

"How many times do I have to tell you that we're not your sidekicks?"

"Once more, apparently," Hunter tells the woman entering the room. "Come on, Izzy, we both know I'm the face of our little party."

The woman rolls her eyes. "Think whatever you want, as long as it keeps you quiet and from screwing everything up."

Hunter opens and closes his mouth a few times before grumbling under his breath and returning his attention to his beer.

The woman laughs quietly before turning to look at them. A kind, polite smile pulls at her lips. "I'm Agent Hartley."

Grant's eyes go wide with recognition. "You're Isabelle Hartley. Wow."

She smirks. "I take it you've heard of me, then."

He nods. "Once or twice."

She chuckles. "Right. Well, it's nice to meet you both, and that handsome little guy," she says with a small smile and nod to Adian. "But unfortunately, I have a mission to prepare for. As does that idiot."

"Oi!"

She joins Hunter in the kitchenette and grabs the collar of his shirt, pulling him out of the room despite his very vocal protests of being manhandled.

"Never thought I'd see the day that you went into fanboy mode."

His brows furrow and he looks over at Skye. "What?"

She watches him with an amused smile. "You totally just fanboyed over that Agent. It was very sweet, but I was hoping for a little more."

"She isn't just some agent, Skye. She's a legend. Right up there with Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton."

"If she's as cool as them, then why wasn't she made an Avenger?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. I think she's always preferred to work in the dark, though, a lot of undercover ops and rarely having her face seen."

"Hmm. Makes sense, I guess." She takes a deep breath and stands from the couch, adjusting her clothes and grabbing her phone and tablet. "Can you keep an eye on him for a bit?" she asks. "I need to go find Mack and talk to him about something before I forget."

He nods, shifting Adian in his arms. "Yeah, of course. Are there bottles clean if he gets hungry?"

"Yeah." She moves closer to them and presses quick kisses all over Adian's face, making the baby giggle. "I love you, baby. I'll see you later. Be good for your dad." She gives Grant a quick smile before making her way out of the room, leaving him and Adian alone with each other.

He turns Adian a little, looking his son directly in the eyes. "What do you want to do, bud? The choice is yours. Maybe we can go teach Max some more tricks? What do you think about that? Want to help me train Max some more?"

Adian gurgles, shoving his tiny fist as far into his mouth as he can get it, his eyes shining up at his dad.

Grant smiles and presses a kiss to Adian's temple before leaving the lounge to go to his room where he keeps Max when he doesn't want the puppy getting out and causing havoc around the base. He still needs to be trained some more before he can roam around the base freely. And even then, it'll probably be pretty rare that he's allowed to just wander around.

They occupy their time training Max before it's time for Adian's nap, the boy showing signs of being tired as soon as he starts fussing and yawning. So Grant gives him a quick bottle and then settles him down for the afternoon. He really loves being a dad. Becoming a dad saved him. In more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one doesn't necessarily move the actual plot along in any way, it's more just kind of a sweet little bonding moment here between certain characters.
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

Hectic is definitely one way to describe what's been happening over the last few days with missions not going as planned, people dying and getting kidnapped, and everything ending up in disarray.

And on top of that, Adian was especially cranky which meant he would hardly sleep which meant Skye hardly slept either. Grant tried to help in whatever way he could, usually by offering to feed their son a bottle at night so she could keep sleeping. But knowing that her baby was suffering for whatever reason made it harder for her to relax and sleep at any point.

She's beyond exhausted during the days as well, with Grant constantly helping out Coulson by giving whatever information he has on Hydra, and her trying to decipher the random symbols that Garrett had apparently drawn before he died, while also trying to deal with an off and on again fussy baby. It's all starting to become too much.

She sighs as she continues to rock Adian in her arms, gently bouncing him up and down as she rubs at his back. "Come on, baby," she says, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice and the tears from falling down her face. "Can you just go to sleep, please? I know you're cranky, but please, just go to sleep. Momma's got a lot of work to do and so I really need you to go to sleep. Even just for a few hours. Please."

She fights back her own tears as she watches her baby continue to fuss, rubbing at his cheeks and ears, his little face scrunched up and pinker than usual. All she wants is to take away whatever's making him fuss. She just wants to help him.

"Everything okay in here?"

She spins on her heel to find Mack entering the lounge, wiping his hands off on a grimy cloth. She gives him an exhausted smile. "Mack, hey. How are you?"

"I'm good," he tells her with a small smile and nod. Mack had been a bit of a saving grace when he first arrived at the base. He introduced himself as just another SHIELD mechanic, but they got off to a quick and easy friendship. Thankfully, Grant was able to come to a quick friendship with the man too, seeing as Mack wasn't hurt personally by Grant being revealed to be a part of Hydra. He had just shrugged it off, saying that people make mistakes and that as long as Grant's trying to be better, it didn't matter to him. And it helps that Adian finds Mack so intriguing for whatever reason she doesn't quite understand.

"Somebody doesn't sound too happy right now."

She sighs and adjusts her hold on her son. "I know, I know. I don't know what's going on, either. I've tried everything but he doesn't need to be changed, he won't eat, there's no rashes or other injuries. I feel like I'm losing my mind."

"Where's Grant?"

"Helping Coulson." She continues bouncing Adian while rocking from side to side. "He's trying really hard to help in whatever way he can, to make up for everything, and I don't want to disrupt them right now, but I seriously think I might go crazy if I can't figure out what's going on with my own kid."

She glances down at the fussing baby in her arms, his cries having gone down to just whimpers, his eyes closing tightly while his hands continue rubbing at his face.

She runs a hand over his head and frowns. "I'm sorry, baby, I know you're miserable right now. Mama doesn't know what to do."

"I thought I heard my grandson in here."

Skye looks up and gives May a small smile as the older woman steps further into the room. "Hey. Was he bothering anyone?"

May shakes her head with a small, rare smile she saves for Adian. "No, he wasn't bothering anyone. And if he was, none of them were brave enough to say anything. They know who his parents are."

"And who his grandmother is. The little guy has a pretty tough family so I don't think anyone's gonna say anything bad about him anytime soon."

"They better not," May says, reaching out to take Adian into her arms without asking.

Skye doesn't mind in the slightest, of course, needing a small break from trying to calm her son down. "I don't know what's wrong," she tells the other woman. "He's been cranky on and off and I can't figure out what's going on with him."

She watches as May cradles Adian securely in her arms, keeping him from moving around too much, and whispers quietly to him as she rocks him gently back and forth. She sighs as she falls down onto the couch, continuing to watch the scene unfold.

"How is it that you're so good at getting him to calm down?" Skye asks with disbelief as she notices Adian's cries lessening until they're no longer there. "I'm his mother," she says, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I'm his mother and I can't even figure out what's wrong with him. I thought...I thought I had it all figured out by now."

"You're never going to have it all figured out," May tells her. "There's always going to be something new that throws you for a loop once you think you've mastered it all. There's nothing wrong with getting a little worked up and overwhelmed. It's natural."

"Well, it doesn't feel very natural. It feels like I'm a failure."

"You're  _not_  a failure," May assures her before focusing back on Adian who is starting to fuss again. "Tell your mom she's not a failure, Adian. She's just overwhelmed."

She fights back her tears as she tries to let her body relax into the couch, leaning her head against the back and closing her eyes. She breathes in deeply a few times, trying desperately to get herself under control. She cannot lose herself right now, she needs to get herself together so she can help her son and figure out what's going on. She just wants to help him.

"That's a good boy. I bet you're feeling a lot better now."

Lifting her head at hearing May's voice, she glances behind her to see the older woman still holding Adian, one of her hands up by his mouth as she smiles at him.

"May? What are you...what are you doing?"

"He's teething," May explains simply, gently rocking Adian. "Massaging the gums can help relieve the pressure for a little while to make him less grumpy."

"Wait, he's just teething? I didn't...how could I have not known that?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself. It could have been any number of things, and it just happened to be because he's teething."

Skye frowns. "Still. I'm his mother, I'm basically biologically tuned into him, I should have known what was going on. In the midst of everything else that we have going on, how on earth did I think I was going to be able to do this?"

"You can't do this to yourself, Skye," May tells her, continuing to gently rock Adian. "I know it seems hard right now, but it will get better. You just have to tough it out. We're all here for you."

She sighs, running her hands through her hair. "I know. I just...I have so much going on right now. And I'm still trying to decipher those weird symbols that Coulson gave me but I'm not having very much luck."

"Why don't I take Adian off your hands for a bit," May suggests. "It'll give you some time to work and I'll bring him back in a few hours or when he starts getting hungry again."

"May...you don't…"

"I want to," she tells her. "So no objections. Now get working."

She nods. "Okay. Have fun, baby," she says to her son, giving him a small smile and blowing him a kiss. "Mommy will see you in a few hours."

She waits for May and then Mack to leave before she pulls her laptop back in front of her and continues working on her task from Coulson. She has a couple of hours to do however much she can of everything she has to do. She can do this. She can totally do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter. Some new info is revealed to a character in this particular chapter that will help move things along a little.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Grant?"

He looks up from his latest book to find Skye approaching him with Adian sitting securely on her hip, the little boy babbling nonsense around a chilled teething ring. "Hey. What's up?" He immediately reaches out to take Adian from her, settling the boy in his lap with the baby's small back against his chest.

"Do you remember Donnie Gill?"

His brows furrow together for a moment as he thinks, doing his best to retrieve the memory of one of their past missions together before he relaxes a little and nods. "The kid from the Academy, yeah. What about him?"

She sinks onto the couch cushion next to him. "Apparently, everyone just got back from trying to recruit him into joining SHIELD."

He quirks a brow. "'Trying'?"

"It didn't work," she tells him dejectedly. "I don't know what happened, but they said that it didn't work, that they weren't able to recruit him. But neither was Hydra, apparently, so that's a good thing, I guess."

"Hydra was trying to recruit him?" he asks, curiosity coursing through his veins.

She nods. "Yeah. They failed, though."

"They're not going to like that," he tells her with a small shake of his head. "They don't like failing. Especially when it comes to Gifteds. They want as many as they can get."

"Like they're collecting them?" Skye asks, a trace of disgust in her voice.

He shrugs. "I guess. Hydra's protocol on Gifteds is pretty straightforward, though. I won't go into all the details, but basically, they send a team out to either convince or capture the Gifted. But if neither of those options are possible, then they take them out."

"Even if they don't pose a threat?" she questions.

He takes in a deep, shaky breath, tightening his hold just a little on his son. "In Hydra's eyes, a Gifted that refuses them  _is_  a threat. And they take care of threats quickly."

"That's the main difference between us and them, then."

"Which is why we need to step things up if want to win this," he tells her. "Because while a SHIELD agent is considering right and wrong, Hydra's already taken the shot."

"So what are you suggesting that we do?" she asks, her back straightening and her eyes going just a little bit darker. "Just kill a bunch of people without a second thought?"

He shakes his head, shifting on the couch so he's facing her more. "No, no, that's not what I'm saying. Not at all. Just that we might need to reconsider our strategy and try to be a little more assertive if we really want to get ahead. It's more than just the present at stake here, Skye, it's the future too. I don't want to raise our son in a world that's run by Hydra. It's not the kind of life I want for him."

"I don't want that for him either," she agrees. "But if the only way to get above Hydra is to be like them, then I don't see how we can even have a chance. Because there's no way that I'm going to stoop to their level."

He gives her a small smile. "I know you won't. You're good. You could never be like them."

She ducks her head and he focuses on Adian for a moment, leaning down to make faces at the boy and tickle his stomach, eliciting a few squeals of delight from him.

"You said that Hydra has a way of convincing people. You meant brainwashing, didn't you?"

He sighs and looks back up at her, tucking Adian in a little closer. "It's not done often, but it's done. There's a lot of work that goes into it, and not everyone is susceptible. It's mostly used on high-value targets."

"Like you?" she questions, and he catches the slight hesitation in her voice.

He pulls his lips in tight before letting out a small puff of air and shaking his head. "After talking with Lisa, about a lot of things, I really wish I could say that that's what happened. But I swore I'd never lie to you." He takes a deep breath. "No, I was never brainwashed. At least, not how Hydra usually does it. Everything that I did, good and bad, I did of my own free will. That's how I always looked at it. I was influenced a lot by Garrett, by his threats and punishments over the years, his own unique form of brainwashing me. I could have said no to him, I could have walked away, but at first, I didn't want to, because I didn't think I would have anywhere else to go. Eventually, it became so normal for me. He's the only one I felt actually cared about me, even though I'm realizing now that he didn't."

He looks down when he feels a small weight on his arm, finding Skye's hand resting there. "Hey, you don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to if it's too much," she assures him.

He nods. "I know. I just...Lisa told me that it's good to talk to other people sometimes, that it'll help me even more than just talking to her will. She's there to help me work through a lot of the issues that I have. But she said that sometimes talking to other people about whatever's on my mind can help too."

She nods slowly, her voice soft as she speaks, "Okay. Tell me, then."

He breathes in deeply, closing his eyes momentarily to strengthen his composure. He knows she's there to listen, but he really doesn't want to break down in front of her. "My family…" he starts, his voice wavering, "...you know they weren't the best. I know Rose probably told you some stuff about them too."

"She did, yeah."

"They tore me down," he tells her. "Bit by bit, they tore me down until I felt pretty worthless and like nothing I ever did would ever matter. And so when John found me and persuaded me to go with him, I didn't hesitate. He built me back up from what my family had done. But he built me back up into the way that he wanted. Into the perfect soldier, someone who was so scared to walk away that they wouldn't question their orders. He made me into the weapon I became."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that," she tells him. "And your family...from the way that you and Rose talk about them, I can't say I blame you in setting the house on fire when you were a kid. It's awful that they were never held accountable for everything they did to you. But from everything I've read about them online, it's no wonder that they weren't; the public loves them and they're well respected too."

He laughs humorlessly. "Well, every family has its secrets."

She nods. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Even yours," he says, taking a huge risk with his words. This could turn out not so well for him if she doesn't like what he tells her. But he needs to tell her. He can't keep this from her anymore.

Her brows furrow. "What?"

"I'm going to tell you something, and I don't want you to freak out. At least, not until you hear everything, okay?"

She nods slowly. "Okay. But I'm already starting to get a little freaked out from how you're talking right now."

"Sorry. But uh...your dad...your dad's alive." He watches her body stiffen and her eyes go wide. "He's been look—"

"Stop."

"Skye…"

"I said stop."

He frowns. "You said you wouldn't freak out, that you'd let me tell you everything."

"I know. But I can't hear this right now. I have spent my entire life trying to deal with the fact that my parents might actually be dead, and now you just spring on me that he's alive. I need a little time to process before you tell me anything else."

He nods. "Okay."

"Great. Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem."

She stands from the couch and pulls Adian from his arms, despite small whines of protest from the boy. "I need to feed Adian and put him down for a nap," she tells him and he just nods. "I'll see you later."

He doesn't say anything back, she's already halfway to the door by the time he really focuses again on what's happening.

He sighs heavily and leans back into the couch. He knew that wasn't going to go well. Why did he think that it would? Things never work out well for him. His entire life that's always been the case. So why did he think things would actually start working out now?

"Grant? You alright?"

He lifts his head to see Fitz standing in the kitchenette, his brows furrowed together. "Hey, Fitz. Yeah, I'm fine. Just...I told Skye something that she didn't really want to hear and now I think she might be upset with me."

"So just a normal day, then," Fitz teases.

He cracks a smile. "Yeah, I guess so." He's so beyond glad that he and Fitz are back to being friends again. Even if it's not exactly the same as it was, they're definitely in a good place. He'd been worried after everything went down that the other man would want to have nothing to do with him. But thankfully, that is not the case. Though, he thinks Adian is a big part of their friendship getting back on track.

"I'll be in the lab the rest of the day if you want to stop by at any point," Fitz tells him.

"Have you been in there all morning?" he asks.

Fitz nods. "Yeah."

"Don't you usually forget to eat when you're busy working on something?"

Fitz looks down and grumbles, shifting on his feet.

"What was that?"

"Trip came by, knew I hadn't eaten. Made me come in here to get something."

He smiles. "Good man, that Trip."

Fitz scoffs. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you later." The Scotsman turns and makes his way back out of the room, mumbling under his breath to himself the whole way.

Grant just smiles and shakes his head, grabbing the book he'd set aside earlier and pulling it back into his lap. He opens to where he'd been reading before Skye interrupted him and lets his body relax into the couch as he immerses himself back into the words on the page.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya!
> 
> Enjoy!

"Nice to see you guys back here in one piece," Skye says when she sees May and Coulson entering the briefing room of the Bus, Adian sitting comfortably on her hip as she turns toward them. "Glad everything went as well as it did, only a few minor scrapes along the way. Also, May, I feel like I should tell you that Adian completely recognized your voice over comms."

The woman raises a brow. "He did?"

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm. I had him with me in here and since the comms were running through the system, he heard you talking. He kept whining and reaching for the table, probably trying to get to you. Just like he is now," she says, trying to keep her son from falling out of her arms as he reaches out toward his grandmother. "Take him, please."

May doesn't hesitate in stepping forward and taking Adian, holding the boy in her arms and smiling brightly at him, a smile that she saves just for him. "Hello, Adian. Did you miss me while I was gone?"

Adian grins and grabs at her nose, muttering, "Nananana," over and over.

"Oh, yeah, he kept doing that too," Skye informs her. "I don't think it's an actual word yet, but he kept saying it while reaching for the table, essentially for you. I think you've been dubbed 'Nana' unintentionally."

"That's fine with me," May tells her, her eyes never leaving Adian. "I don't mind. Am I Nana?" she asks the boy, gently bouncing him. "Is that who I am now?"

Adian continues to smile, giggling when May tickles his side. Coulson steps up beside them and joins in on the tickling, making the boy's giggles resonate even louder through the room.

Skye watches the scene in front of her with a smile on her face, still not quite believing that her life is like this now. Sure, most of the people around the base are still on the fence about Grant walking around as freely as he does, but at least the people that really matter to her seem to be okay with her son being around. She knows Coulson is still having a hard time dealing with it all, and Grant being out most of all, but he doesn't seem to be too bothered by Adian, which she's especially happy with. She's always thought of Coulson as a father figure and she honestly doesn't know what she would have done had he not been okay with Adian in the end.

"So did you guys get the painting?" she asks after a moment, pulling their attention away from Adian.

"We did," Coulson tells her with a small smile. "We also picked up something else. Well, someone else."

Her brows furrow. "Really? Who?"

"We're not sure who she is. We've put her in one of the interrogation rooms for now and have Hunter and Mack keeping an eye on her. But she'd been impersonating May during the mission, so it's possible she may have been working for Hydra to get the painting. May managed to knock her out and we figured we'd bring her in, see what she knows."

"Oh, good idea," she says with a nod. "I'd also like to have some words with her. Fitz and Hunter found a virus in the Bus' system which is why it went all haywire. Adian freaked out. She terrified my son, I'd like to know why she put that virus there in the first place."

"We'll get to the bottom of it," Coulson assures her. "In the meantime, let's work on getting back to the base."

She nods. "Right. And I'm assuming you want me to run those symbols on the back of the painting through my software, see if anything actually pops up?"

"That would be preferable, yes."

"Great. I'll get it scanned and started running while we're on our way back." She takes Adian from May's arms, noticing her baby rubbing at his eyes and letting out a small yawn, a clear sign that he's getting tired. "Hopefully, we'll get something by the time we reach the base again. This little guy also needs a nap, so I should probably get that taken care of."

She gives them both a smile as she turns and makes her way to the bunk she'd occupied while they were always mobile and slips inside, pulling the door closed tightly behind her.

"I know this is an unusual place, baby," she says to Adian as she settles herself on the bed. "But it's naptime for you, and I know you're getting tired, so please go to sleep, okay?" She leans back against the wall as she adjusts her shirt so she can feed Adian before his nap, hoping with everything that he'll fall asleep quickly.

.

.

.

Bouncing Adian lightly on her hip as she steps down into the large hangar of the SHIELD base from the ramp of the quinjet, Skye smiles when she sees Max approaching, barking softly as he jumps at her feet.

"Hey, Max," she says, stooping down to run her fingers through the dog's fur. "Did you miss us? I made sure to bring your best friend back." She adjusts her hold on Adian, allowing the two to refamiliarize themselves with each other, the Shepherd sniffing and licking at Adian's face while the little boy giggles.

"You're back."

She lifts her head, blowing some of the hair out of her face and gives Grant a tiny smile. "Yeah. We just got in."

"How'd it go?" he asks, stooping down to say hi to his son, running his hand over the top of the boy's head.

"Good. They got the painting, and they managed to get an operative they think was working for Hydra because she was impersonating May."

"How was she doing that?"

"I don't know. Coulson and May weren't saying much about it. She's still unconscious so they put her in containment and are waiting for her to wake up so they can talk to her."

He nods. "Hmm. I'll talk to Coulson then, see if I can help somehow."

"That's a good idea. I'm sure he'd appreciate that, especially since this one was a bit more personal to both him and May. I've got some other stuff to work on so would you mind taking Adian for a bit so I can focus?"

"Yeah, of course." He immediately takes Adian into his arms and they both stand.

"Great. He's already eaten and had a nap on the ride back here so he should be okay for a little while." She steps forward to kiss Adian's head, running a hand over his hair as she does so. "You be good for your dad, baby. I'll see you in a little bit." She flashes Grant a quick smile before gathering up the rest of her things and making her way further into the base. Her smile grows a little bit when she hears Grant's low voice talking excitedly to their son. She still doesn't know if she's used to this yet. But she can't honestly say that she hates it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter. Sorry it's been a while, been busy with work and other things. But here you go!
> 
> Enjoy!

Glancing periodically through the viewfinder of his Polaroid camera as he wanders around the base, Grant does his best to not run into any other agents in the hallways. The last thing he needs is to give one of them a reason to hate him even more for accidentally bumping into them. He knows some of them are starting to come around to the fact that he's there and is actually going to be sticking around, but not all of them are happy about it. He's still trying to come to terms with it himself, actually. He's still waiting for that other shoe to drop, for Coulson to cuff him one day without explanation and just throw him into Vault D and keep him there for however long he feels like. For his son's sake, though, he really hopes that doesn't happen.

Stopping when he reaches the lounge, he can't help the smile that stretches across his lips when he sees Skye on the floor with Adian, the little boy giggling as Skye tickles him and blows raspberries on his stomach.

Bringing the camera back up, he peers through the viewfinder, quietly moving closer to the scene to make it more clear in the lens. Once he's close enough, but not too close that they notice him just yet, he captures the moment, pulling the film out of the camera when it pops out the bottom.

He waits for a moment before setting his camera and the new photo on the counter next to him, moving to join his little family.

"Hey."

Skye looks up at him and smiles, Adian squealing in delight when he sees him. "Hey. Adian, look who's here?"

"Hey, big guy," he says, lowering himself to the floor and reaching out to pull his son into his lap. "Were you having fun with mommy?"

"He was a welcomed reprieve from the work I've been doing for Coulson," Skye tells him.

"What has he been having you do?"

"Analyze some symbols that keep popping up everywhere. Neither of us knows what they are but he really wants me to find out. But I haven't been having any luck so far." She reaches behind her to grab the tablet sitting on the couch cushion and taps on the screen before holding it out to him. "He hasn't told me too much about where he's gotten all the samples of the symbols but—"

"I've seen these," he cuts her off once he sees the symbols on the screen.

"Wait, you have?"

He nods. "Yeah. The first time was when we had that recon mission in Belarus. I didn't know what they were then, still don't. But then Garrett starting etching those same symbols into some sheets of glass on the Bus."

Her eyes go wide as she pulls the tablet back to her and looks at the symbols. "Garrett carved this stuff himself?"

He nods. "Yeah."

"Did he say what it was?"

"No. But he wasn't making a lot of sense at the time, either, after he was injected with the GH formula." They lock eyes after a moment of realization between them, his filling with worry and concern. "These writings, they're not...yours, are they?"

She shakes her head, swallowing. "No."

He lets out a breath. "Good. That's good. Because once Garrett started, he couldn't stop. The writing was anywhere he could carve, didn't matter what it was. The walls, the floor…"

"On his desk," she whispers, and he almost doesn't catch it.

"To be honest, now that I've had time to really think about it, I'm glad that he was put down when he was. The Garrett I knew, the one I thought cared about me, he was long gone once the writing started. And whatever took his place, I don't think it was meant to survive."

"You're really okay with him being gone?" Skye asks him.

He takes a deep breath. "I'm learning to be. It's not easy, because he was all I knew for so long, but Lisa's helping me work through it all."

"That's good."

"It is. But uh, I'm glad you aren't writing those symbols," he tells her honestly, bouncing Adian a little on his knee. "Garrett went practically insane once he started doing that, I don't want the same to happen to you. Adian needs you."

She nods. "Yeah, I don't want it to happen either. You're sure it happened after Garrett was injected with the GH formula?"

He nods. "Mm-hmm. It didn't take very long to happen either."

He can practically see the gears in her head turning over, piecing things together inside her mind as she takes in all the new information he gave to her.

"You okay?" he asks, grabbing her attention again.

"I'm fine. I just...can you watch him for a bit?" she asks, pulling herself up off the floor. "I need to go talk to Coulson about something."

"Yeah, of course."

She doesn't respond to him, choosing instead to lean down and kiss Adian's head. She runs a hand through his own hair before leaving the room and he forces himself to not read too much into it. Not at all. It couldn't have meant anything. She's made it clear to him from the start that all they're doing is raising Adian together. Her mind was obviously elsewhere when she did that, having just shown affection toward their son and was a little caught up in things. That's all it was. That is all it was.

.

.

.

"Grant."

Looking up from the book in his hands, he gives Skye a small smile when he sees her standing in the doorway to the lounge. "Skye, hey. How'd your talk with Coulson go?"

She breathes in deeply. "That is a conversation to be tabled for later. Right now, there is something a lot more pressing than that going on."

"What is it?"

"Simmons is in danger."

His brows furrow. "How so?"

"Apparently, this entire time that she's been gone, she's been undercover with Hydra."

His eyes go wide and he sits up, being careful not jostle a sleeping Adian next to him. "She's been what?"

She moves to sit down next to him. "I guess it was partially her idea, to go undercover in the science division. But now her life is being threatened."

"By who? Someone in Hydra?"

She shakes her head. "Raina."

He sucks in a sharp breath at the name. He hasn't seen that woman for a long time. At least, it feels like forever. He honestly didn't think she was still a player in all of this. He thought she was long gone by now, far away from all of this simply for reasons of self-preservation.

"Grant? You okay?"

He nods. "Yeah. I just...Raina's really back?"

"Yeah. Coulson's going to meet up with her. He's taking Hunter and May with him. But he said that he wants you along on it too."

"He does?"

"He said that you might be helpful because you have a history with her and might pick up on things that the others don't."

"Oh, right, of course. Did he say when we're leaving?" he asks.

"Soon, I think. You might want to go find him to get more of the details, though."

"Are you good with Adian, then? I don't know how long we're going to be gone."

She smiles down at the baby lying in between them and rests one hand on his small stomach. "Yeah, of course." She looks up at him. "Just be careful, okay? I've never liked Raina."

"Feeling's mutual," he says with a small nod. The biggest thing he's never liked about Raina is her obsession with Skye, especially when Garrett wanted her blood. He's never been Raina's biggest fan, and now that she's back in the picture for whatever reason, he really doesn't trust her.

Taking a deep breath, he stands from the couch and makes sure he has the few things he brought with him before leaning down to kiss Adian's forehead. "See you soon, bud," he whispers, flashing Skye a quick smile on his way out of the lounge.

He deposits his belongings in his room before continuing on to Coulson's office, hoping the older man is still there.

He knocks quickly on the door, pushing it open after a "Come in" sounds from the other side.

"Ward, good you're here."

He closes the door behind him and moves further into the room. "Skye said you wanted me on a mission with you?"

"Yes. I have a meeting with Raina. You remember her, right?"

He nods. "Unfortunately."

"You'll be with Hunter and May in the background, keeping an eye on the situation to make sure things don't go sideways. I don't trust Raina, not in the slightest, so I don't want to take any chances with this."

"I understand. I don't trust her either."

Coulson quirks a brow. "You don't?"

"No. I haven't since pretty much the moment I met her. She's been a mystery, one that I don't like. She's had…" He shifts on his feet. "She's always had this odd obsession with Skye, it has never sat well with me."

"I promise you I'll do my best to make sure that Raina never gets near Skye."

"I know you will, sir. I just...I don't want Adian to grow up without his mother."

"It won't come to that. We won't let it."

He trusts that Coulson believes that wholeheartedly, but he can't help the complete sinking feeling he gets in his gut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! This one moves things along a little more, as we're getting closer to the bigger events of s2.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Hey, how'd it go?" Skye asks as soon as she sees Grant entering the lounge, shrugging out of his jacket and draping it over the back of the couch.

"As well as can be expected," he replies, letting out a heavy sigh. "She outed Simmons, but another undercover operative got her out before things got too bad for her in there."

"So Simmons is back, then?" she asks, a slight trace of hope in her voice.

Grant shakes his head. "No. I guess she wanted to stay away for a bit longer. Coulson set her up with a different safe house since the one she'd been in was compromised."

Skye sighs, her shoulders slumping. "I feel like this is my fault that she's staying away. She was upset when I told her that I was pregnant, she was so angry with me like I actually tried to get pregnant on purpose. We both know that all of this was not on purpose in any way. But it happened and she couldn't deal with that even though she wasn't the one growing an actual human being inside of her. She didn't want to stick around and see how amazing of a kid our boy is," she says, running a hand over Adian's head, the little boy lying next to her on the couch, happily gumming on one of his chilled teething rings.

"Don't dwell on it too much," he tells her. "She made her choice to leave. That's not on you. You can't blame yourself."

"I know. It just sucks."

"Maybe so. But you just need to find something else to focus your mind on."

"Like what?" she questions, handing Adian's toy back to him when he accidentally tosses it on the floor.

He breathes in deeply. "Like the fact that we know where your father might be."

Her breath catches in her throat and her entire body goes stiff. She forces herself to look up at Grant, swallowing thickly. "What did you just say?"

"Raina gave us a location on him. Or at least, somewhere he's been very recently. Coulson and May are there right now scoping it out, but they sent me and Hunter back to get you, see if you were up for a little field trip."

She swallows, her mind racing with all the possibilities of what this whole thing could mean. She started to give up hope of ever finding her parents, especially after what Coulson told her what feels like a lifetime ago now. Does she really want to do this? Does she really want to possibly see her father for the first time ever? She has questions, obviously, so many questions. But is she ready for the answers? Is she ready for the truth?

"Hey, you know you don't have to do this if you aren't ready for it."

She focuses back on Grant, shaking her head. "No. I should...I should do this. It's what I've always wanted."

"Raina knew that," he tells her. "Hunter's worried that it's a trap, since finding your parents is the one thing you've always wanted, it was always your number one priority."

"Well now I have new priorities," she reminds him, smiling down at their son and rubbing his belly, causing him to look over at her and smile. "Let me see if one of the guys can keep an eye on Adian, and then I'll go get dressed. Meet you at the quinjet?"

He nods. "Yeah. I'll be waiting." He leans down to kiss Adian's forehead before moving out of the room.

She lets out a heavy breath and looks at her son. "Looks like I might be meeting your grandpa today, baby. Let's just hope everything goes well."

.

.

.

"How are you feeling?"

She looks up from Adian to find Grant standing near her, two steaming mugs in his hands and a small concerned smile on his face.

"About as well as I can be, all things considering."

"Right. Uh, I made you some tea. I think it's that stuff that Fitz gave you while you were pregnant. I wasn't sure if you still drank it that much, but I figured it's better than coffee right now."

She smiles appreciatively, taking the mug from him. "Thanks." She takes a small, testing sip from it before setting it on the table in front of her so Adian can't get ahold of it and accidentally burn himself.

The couch cushion dips as he sits next to her. "I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now."

She shrugs. "Your parents were pretty awful too, from what I remember."

"But they never did anything like that," he says, and she knows he's referring to the room May discovered back at the abandoned building. It'd been a shock, to say the least. On top of that, she'd found an old photograph in a frame, showing her dad holding her as a baby. Just that photo alone had been too much, though she partially blames her tears on leftover pregnancy hormones. She hadn't missed the brief flicker of disappointment on Grant's face, either, when she'd embraced Coulson while she cried. Despite their still somewhat rocky relationship, she's always seen Coulson as a father figure, and that's definitely what she needed at that moment.

"Maybe they didn't," she tells him. "But they were still horrible people. Just like mine, apparently."

"But your dad loved you, and probably still does."

"How could someone who does anything like that be capable of loving another human?" she questions, all of her emotions about the whole situation coming to the surface again. She hugs Adian a little closer to her body, dropping a kiss to the top of his head and breathing in deeply.

"I've killed people," Grant says. "Are you saying that because I've killed people I'm not capable of loving our son?"

There's no malice or anger in his voice, simply curiosity at her statement.

She shakes her head, looking up at him. "You're different."

"How so?"

"I don't know," she says, letting out a frustrated breath of air. "You just are. He's...he's…"

"A father," he finishes for her, but they both know that isn't what she was going to say. "I know you don't want to hear it, Skye, you'll probably try and deny it. But all the things your father ever did, he did it because he loved you. And I can't fault him for that."

She avoids his eyes, knowing already what she'll see in them if she does. She can't deal with that right now. Not at a time like this.

"The people who died in the Hunan province," he continues, "they weren't villagers. They were Hydra agents."

That has her looking up, curiosity and fear taking over her as she watches him while he speaks. She knows there are tears in her eyes. Why wouldn't there be?

"They'd found you and your mother."

She can't help the small, hopeful smile that grows on her lips at the thought of the woman who carried her for nine months and then gave birth to her. And now that she's a mother herself, there's something elevated, different.

"My mother? Is she alive too?" She needs this. She needs this one small victory. Her smile falters when she sees the look in his eyes.

"No," he says softly. "They...they killed her."

She swallows thickly. "Why?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. But when your father got there, he lost it. He tore up the whole village and everyone in it."

"How? What is he?"

"Whatever he is, he lost his whole family in one day. He cracked. And now he wants to put his family back together. And I know you and I aren't in any kind of relationship, but I do know that if anything like that ever happened to you and Adian, I wouldn't hesitate in finding you both, no matter what it would take. I wouldn't let anything stand in the way of getting my family back."

She focuses on the intense look in his eyes, completely believing him. She knows he would do anything for her and Adian, and it worries her sometimes. She doesn't want him ever going past the point of no return.

"I just...I don't know how to handle all of this," she admits to him.

"Just take it day by day," he tells her. "You're not alone, okay? You have people who want to help you if you let us."

She nods. "Yeah, okay. Thank you." She gives him a small smile.

He returns it. "Anytime. Do you want me to take Adian, try to get him to go down? Or are you good with him?"

She shakes her head, already lifting Adian toward him. "No, you take him. I need to think for a while."

"Okay. I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah." She says goodnight to Adian before letting out a heavy breath as her body sinks further into the couch.

So much has happened in the last few hours and she really doesn't know how to feel about any of it. After a while, she started to think she'd never find her parents. That she'd always be left wondering. And now she finds out that one is dead and the other is alive and quite possibly deranged. It's too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Sorry it's been a while. Been working a lot lately. But with this chapter, we are starting to get into more of the bigger storyline from s2. So brace yourselves for what's coming.
> 
> Enjoy!

He's risking a lot by doing this. He knows that he is. It was never explicitly said by Coulson, or anyone else for that matter, but he's pretty sure that having secret communications with a very high-risk adversary of SHIELD is a big red flag. But he needs to know. He needs to know what she knows.

He's been communicating with Raina for a while, since not too long after her meeting with Coulson at that restaurant. The way she spoke about Skye didn't sit well with him, it never did. He needs to know why. Of course, he hasn't told anyone else about his conversations with Raina, only Max. He confides in Max a lot with things he knows he can't tell other people or just feels like he can't tell other people.

It's been difficult, not telling Skye what he's learned from Raina, but he wants to make sure that he has everything concrete before he broaches the subject with her. Even then, he may not tell her until after everything is dealt with and he can say for certain whether or not her father really is as a bad of a person as everyone assumes he is.

It hasn't been easy, though, with Raina being a naturally cryptic person, and then having to be vague in their communications in case anyone else finds them. But he's done his best to piece everything together. And he's so close.

A soft knocking at the door draws Grant's attention away from the laptop in front of him where he'd been communicating with Raina. "Who is it?" he asks.

"It's me," Skye's voice comes from the other side.

"One second." He shuts the lid of the laptop and sets it aside before climbing off the bed to pull the door open. "Hey."

"Hi. Are you busy right now?" she asks him, hiking Adian up a little higher on her hip.

He shakes his head, shifting on his feet. "No, why?"

"I just felt like we could watch a movie or something," she says nonchalantly with a small shrug. "Things have been crazy around here lately and I think we could both use some quiet. Plus, it's been a while since we've done a movie night. There are still a lot of movies you haven't seen yet."

He shifts on his feet again, his brows furrowing together tightly. He wants to, so badly, but he's also so close in his communications with Raina. He's almost gotten it. "Could we...could we maybe raincheck for another night?" he asks carefully. "I'm kind of in the middle of something important and I—"

"I thought you said you weren't busy?"

He sighs. "I'm not, not really. I just...this can't really wait and I nee—"

"Why are you lying?" she asks, adjusting her hold on Adian. "What are you hiding from me, Grant?"

He sighs again, hanging his head and rubbing the back of his neck. He should have known he wouldn't be able to keep this a secret for much longer. He looks back up at Skye. "Come inside. It's better if I tell you this when no one else can hear."

She hesitates for a small moment before entering his room and he slides the door closed after her. He watches her cross to the small area he has set aside for Adian whenever he's watching the boy in there, and then she joins him, standing near his bed. She crosses her arms over her chest and levels him with a glare.

"Start talking."

He takes a deep breath, watching her carefully. "I've been talking with Raina."

Her eyes go wide and her arms fall from her chest. "You've been what?"

"I've been trying to get more information from her," he explains. "About why she's been so interested in you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I needed to be sure about all of this before I came to you."

"If you ever did," she speaks the words he wanted to be left unsaid. "Are you crazy, Grant? We can't trust Raina."

"I think we can," he admits. "At least, about this. It's taken a while to get what I have, but she hasn't been shy about it. She wants you to go somewhere with her, and I've almost gotten the location. She's always cryptic, and we've had to be careful while talking. I don't know if she's going to give me the actual location over our communications, though. I might have to find a way to go get her and have her take me there herself."

Skye's silent for a moment before she uncrosses her arms and stands a little taller. "I'm coming with you."

"What?" He shakes his head. "No, Skye…"

"You can't keep me in the dark with this, Grant. Not when it's about me. I have to know what's going on. Please."

He sighs, but nods his head, figuring there's no use trying to keep this from her anymore. "Alright. I was planning on heading out soon to go get Raina, but I wasn't sure how long I was going to be gone. Since you're coming too, now, we need to find someone to watch Adian. I trust the guys here, I really do, but I don't know if I want to leave him here without us for an indefinite amount of time."

"No, I feel the same way. I trust the others to watch Adian, but I don't know if I want to leave him here without us either. Maybe you could call Rose and see if she'd watch him for us. We won't be able to give her a time frame of how long we'll be gone, but maybe she'd still be willing."

He nods. "Yeah. Do you want to change while I get some stuff together for Adian? I'll call her when we're done."

"Okay."

It doesn't take him long to get things together for Adian, going into the baby's room to find everything they'll need. He puts it all in the diaper bag that they've hardly used since getting it, that's more of a backpack style, and then makes sure the boy is dressed properly. He runs through a mental list of everything he packed, trying to think if he forgot anything. He packed a few extra pairs of clothes, a stack of diapers, wipes, Adian's favorite toys, and a few other necessities. They'll still have to grab the milk out of the freezer that Skye keeps saved up in case she's not able to feed Adian for whatever reason and someone else will have to.

He's sliding Adian's shoes onto his feet when Skye enters the room, dressed in a set of tactical clothing, her hair pulled back out of her face.

"You two ready?" she asks.

He nods, lifting Adian off the changing table and handing him over to Skye. "I've checked his diaper and he seems fine, but he may need to be changed on the way, depending."

She nods. "Okay. Have you called Rose yet?"

"I was just about to." He pulls his phone out of his pocket and immediately dials his sister's number, holding the device to his ear as he waits for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rosie," he says into the receiver. "Do you think you can watch Adian for a few days?" He glances over to where Skye is sitting in the rocking chair with Adian in her lap and Max sitting at her feet.

"Of course. I'd love to spend more time with my handsome nephew. What's going on?"

"I'm not quite sure," he says honestly. "But I promise I'll explain once I know, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. When are you guys coming by?"

"As soon as possible. Would today be too short of notice for you?"

"Absolutely not. I'll see you when you get here."

"Yeah. Thank you, Rose."

"You know you don't have to thank me, Grant. We're family."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too."

Ending the call, he pulls the phone away from his ear and looks over at Skye. "Rose said she can watch him."

"Good." She looks at Adian and smiles. "What do you think, baby? Want to spend a few days with your Auntie Rose?"

Adian simply gurgles, waving his hands in the air as he does.

"I think that's a yes," Grant remarks, a smile on his face. "Let me just grab my jacket and then we'll go."

"Okay. I'll meet you in the hangar."

He nods. "And remember, if anyone asks, we're just going to visit my sister to get away from all of this for a few days."

"The best lies have a grain of truth to them."

He gives her a small smile before moving to his room next door to grab his jacket. He wishes he could have a gun of some kind with him, to be able to protect them when they go meet with Raina. He'll just have to make do with what he has, knowing he won't be able to get a gun from the weaponry. Neither of them will if they want to leave without the others noticing weapons missing and then asking questions.

Letting out a heavy sigh, he makes sure he has everything he needs before leaving the room, closing the door tightly behind him. This is it, everything's almost going to be put in place. They're almost to the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new one for you! Sorry it's been a while. I've been busy with work and working on other stories. But I have not forgotten about this one.
> 
> This one is when things really start to get exciting. You'll see what I mean.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Are we really doing this?" Skye asks as she and Grant make their way inside the old building looking over a cliff in San Juan. She keeps her eyes focused on her surroundings, just to be on the safe side. She has a feeling that these people won't attack her because she's there for a specific reason, but she wouldn't feel right if she didn't at least keep herself on high alert.

Grant nods from next to her. "Yeah, we are. There's only one way to really know, right?"

"I guess so. It's just...really weird, all of this. I'm not sure how to feel about any of it."

"It's going to be fine," he tries to assure her and she gives him a small smile for it. She'd been hesitant to go through with this after meeting with Raina, but ultimately decided that she's done with wondering. She's ready for answers.

"You can't know that," she says to Grant, "but it's sweet of you to say. I'm just...I guess everything that Raina's told me kind of has me on edge. I'm supposedly going to be meeting my father, but what if everything goes horribly wrong?"

"I won't let that happen." He stops abruptly and turns to face her so he can look into her eyes. "You believe me when I say that I'll do everything in my power to make sure we both come out of this whole thing alive and unscathed, right?"

She nods. "Yeah, I do." And she does. There's no doubt in her mind that he'll do everything he can to protect both of them. To ensure that they get back to their son.

"Good. Now, are you ready?"

She takes a deep, shaky breath. "No. But it's now or never, right?"

He gives her a small smile before they continue their way through the building and up a flight of stairs toward a large set of double doors. The directions they were given to the room were pretty clear, that much is obvious, she's just not sure if she can really go through with this.

"Hey, you good?" Grant asks once they reach the room, one of his hands resting on the door handle, waiting for her to give him the go-ahead.

She nods, swallowing. "Mm-hmm."

He twists the handle and pushes the door open, the both of them remaining in the doorway, Grant standing just a hair behind her.

That's when she sees him, slowly standing from the worn-out couch in the center of the room. He looks just like the photo she saw of him, only older in the face and grayer in the hair. He's nervous, that much she can tell right away.

Slowly moving into the room, she can't help the tears that start to build in her eyes at actually seeing him in person. She stops just inside the room, needs a moment to take it all in.

"Do you want me to stay?" Grant asks quietly from behind her.

She shakes her head and looks at him over her shoulder. "No, I think I'll be fine. But could you...could you wait outside? I'll shout if I need you for anything."

He gives her a small smile and nods, reaching inside to pull the door closed. And then she's left alone with  _him_ , this man she's never met in her adult life, this man that's apparently her father.

"Look at that," he finally speaks up after moments of complete silence passing between them. "The way you tilt your head, it's just like your...Is it nature or nurture?"

She's quiet for a long time as he speaks, not quite having found her ability to talk to him just yet. But he doesn't stop talking, he rambles on, his nerves getting the best of him. It's obvious that he's been waiting for this, but wasn't sure what to expect from it.

She can't hold her tongue anymore when he tries to tell her about himself, saying how she doesn't know anything about him. And she breaks her silence. It wasn't what she'd intended to say to him, but it just comes out.

"You're a monster, a murderer. A trail of death wherever you go."

He looks almost hurt by her words, but she can't find it in herself to care too much just yet. He may be her father, but she doesn't know him. And he doesn't know her.

"Those are...all true. But you need to understand, my little girl was... _you_ , were taken from me, and my world fell apart. It was the worst day of my life, losing you. But I didn't lose you, I wasn't careless, I didn't forget you were stolen from me!"

She moves back when his voice rises and he steps closer. She sees the realization flash across his face and he backs up, calming himself down again before speaking. She listens to him as he talks, starting to tell her about her life when she was just a baby.

"Hey!" she calls out when he drifts off, staring at the carpet beneath them, obviously off somewhere else in his mind.

He looks up at her and then stands from the chair he'd been sitting in, looking at her, but staying back. "This is the thing I want to say. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, that I couldn't protect you...That I couldn't teach you about the stars…" His voice breaks and she has to fight back her own tears. "Or sing you to sleep. I know I'm a terrible disappointment, but I'm here now. And everything that's about to happen is supposed to happen. I'm gonna take care of you."

"So then let me leave," she says to him. "Tell those guys outside to stand down so I can go." This is all too much, she can't deal with it. She needs to see her son, she needs to see Adian.

He looks almost shocked by her request. "What? Oh. Maybe I haven't been clear. You're exactly where you're supposed to be. This is your destiny."

She definitely doesn't like the sound of it or the way he's looking at her. She doesn't know why she thought any of this was going to be a good idea, but now she really, really wishes she hadn't come.

.

.

.

There's a sinking feeling in her gut as she watches Raina. Watches her circle the pedestal in the center of the chamber deep down beneath the old building in San Juan. She listens as she spouts off more crazy rantings like before, talking about blessings and gifts, and giving life. It's all too much. Everything about this is too much. She'd followed Raina down to stop her, after getting away from her father, to keep from doing whatever it is she plans on doing. She doesn't know what's supposed to happen, but she doesn't trust Raina in the slightest. Never has.

"Make it stop!" she shouts when the Obelisk in Raina's hand starts to glow and hum.

Raina simply laughs quietly in delight. "I can't. Neither of us can now."

She lowers the gun she'd had trained on Raina as they both watch the Obelisk slowly float over to the pedestal, setting itself down in the center of the bright beam of light.

A low rumbling draws her attention to the walls of the chamber, a clear sign of the doorways around them starting to close one by one.

"If you want to leave," Raina says to her, "now's your chance."

She watches with wide, frantic eyes as the entrances seal themselves up. She wants to leave, she has to leave. But there's a part deep down inside that can't.

Her eyes go wide as the last chamber door closes, sealing her inside with Raina. And Grant.

"Grant? You followed me? Why did you follow me? I was supposed to be doing this alone. I knocked you out!"

"Not well enough," he tells her. He takes a small step toward her, placing one hand on her arm, his eyes looking straight into hers. "And you're crazy if you think I'm letting you do this alone, Skye. Not when we don't know what's going to happen to you while you're in here. You could die for all we know."

"So you thought you'd risk your life too?" she asks, her voice getting higher and her brows raising. "Adian can't lose both of his parents, Grant. I won't have him growing up like I did. One of us needs to make it through for Adian's sake."

"One of you will be making it out," Raina speaks up, her eyes glued to the Obelisk. She looks up at them. "Just...not the unworthy," she says, looking straight at Grant. There's no need to expand on that, she knows exactly what Raina means to say.

"And that's exactly why you shouldn't have come down here," Skye says to him, hitting him repeatedly in the chest.

He grabs hold of the hand on his chest, looking straight into her eyes, and she swallows down the lump in her throat. "I wasn't going to let you go through this alone."

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the Obelisk moving and chances a glance to find the structure opening up, revealing shards of a type of crystal she's never seen before.

"How do we stop that?" Grant asks from beside her.

She shakes her head, her eyes glued to the pedestal. "I don't think we can."

"Well, what's supposed to happen?"

"Something beautiful," Raina speaks up, looking at the crystals with a sort of odd fascination that makes Skye's skin crawl all over. Then again, this is what Raina's been chasing, what she's been after for however long.

They all watch the crystal for another moment before they're knocked back by a large gust of wind. A high-pitched mumbling fills the space around them and for a moment nothing happens.

Her brows furrow together a second later, an odd tingling sensation starting in her toes and the tips of her fingers.

She looks down to see some kind of dark substance working its way up her body faster than she'd like. She doesn't know what it is, and that sinking feeling from before returns in full force.

She casts her eyes up and locks with Grant's, finding the same substance working its way up his body too.

The panic is clear in his eyes.

"Skye!" He reaches out to her as the substance crawls across his arm, locking it in place.

She reaches out to him on instinct. "Grant? Grant!" The substance covers her arms and legs, keeping her in place, her fingertips nearly touching his but not quite.

The last thing she sees is the worry and concern he has for her in his eyes, clear as day. And then everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Things are really starting to get more into plot territory now, and I'm so excited for you guys to see what I've got in store. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Her head is pounding as she wakes up. There's a residual tingling all over her body and she immediately jumps at the memory that invades her mind. She relaxes again when she finds no trace of the foreign substance that had covered the surface of her skin and clothes, cutting off her view of the chamber and of Grant.

Grant. No.

Her eyes go wide and she frantically looks around the room for any sign of the man, hoping beyond everything that Raina was wrong, that he survived somehow and he'll get to see his son again. She doesn't know what she'll do if she has to raise Adian without him, the thought of what she'll have to tell Adian when he's older completely terrifying her. She does take notice that Raina is no longer there in the chamber and must have woken up first and found a way out. So then she can get out too. With Grant.

She lets out a breath of relief when she finds Grant lying unconscious on the ground a few feet away from her, his chest moving up and down as he breathes. There are burned-out holes in his shirt and jeans, drawing her brows together in confusion.

She crawls over to him and sits up on her knees, checking him over for any injuries. Other than the burns in his clothes, there's no evidence that there had been any kind of fire, which just confuses her further.

"Grant," she says softly, her hands cupping his cheeks and lightly patting them, trying to get him to wake up. "Grant, can you hear me? Please wake up. Come on, open your eyes, please. Grant."

A few seconds later, he releases a groan and his head starts moving slowly from side to side, his eyes squinting tightly together.

"S...Skye?" His eyes open and he looks up at her with furrowed brows. "What happened?"

She shakes her head, swallowing. "I don't know. All I remember is that stuff crawling all over me, and then everything went dark."

"The same thing happened to me," he tells her. He pulls himself into a sitting position, a quiet groan being released. "Where's Raina?" he asks, casting a glance around the small room.

"I don't know. She was gone when I woke up. But we need to go now." She wraps one arm around his torso and helps him to his feet, ignoring the odd heat that moves through her skin when she touches him.

"SHIELD followed us here," he says.

"I'm not sure if they actually did," she admits, slowly moving toward the exit as the walls slowly start to shake, small pieces of rock starting to fall from the ceiling. "I know they were close to getting the location, but we had a leg up on them because of Raina. And I disabled the GPS in the car when we were on our way here. They must have gotten the location not long after we got here or something. I saw Coulson when I went to find my—when I went to find Cal."

Grant nods. "I saw Coulson too. On my way down here. He tried to stop me."

"You should have listened to him. You're lucky that whatever that was in there didn't kill you."

"Let's not focus on that right now," he says as they make their way to the open exit above them. "Let's focus on getting out of here and getting back to our son."

She nods, letting out a small breath with a smile. "Sounds like the perfect plan to me."

As soon as they're out of the hole, they're immediately swarmed by SHIELD agents fussing over them and checking them from head to toe for any injuries they might have received down in the chamber. Thankfully, there are none.

All they want to do is get to Rose's house to see Adian, but the agents insist that they get back to the base first for a more thorough examination, to make sure that everything is really okay and that being down in the chamber didn't have any lingering effects on them.

She simply sighs and shares a look with Grant, knowing that he'd rather not be subject to poking and prodding, but that it was probably at Coulson's orders that they go through the exams and he doesn't want to upset the man. She doesn't want to either, really. He already went through enough having been beaten up so badly by Cal, she doesn't want him to worry too much about her health too. He really has enough on his plate already and he doesn't need anything else to take up his time.

.

.

.

"How much longer do you think we'll have to stay in here?" Grant asks as he paces back and forth within the glass walls of his shared quarantine cell with Skye. They've been confined to the small space while tests were run to make sure they're both okay, and neither of them has heard any news yet. It's starting to get to him.

"I don't know," Skye responds from her place on one of the two cots in there with them. "But I really want to see Adian. I need to hold him."

He nods. "I know how you feel. I just want to see our boy."

"I can see if Rose is available to FaceTime," she suggests. "That way we can still see him and explain to Rose that we might need her to watch him for a little bit longer, depending on when we're let out of here."

"Yeah, okay." He moves to stand next to Skye and waits while she pulls up Rose's contact info on her tablet, requesting a video call with his sister.

They both wait and watch as the line tries to connect, the sound of a ringing phone echoing off the glass around them.

He can't help the wide smile he gets and the tears that rush to his eyes when he sees his son's face filling up the screen of the tablet. His son shrieks happily a second later and moves even closer to the screen.

"Adian, you've got to sit back a little," Rose's voice sounds from behind the baby. "Your mom and dad can't see you if you sit that close."

"Hi, baby," Skye says from beside him and he casts a small glance at her to see her with tears in her eyes as well as a smile on her face. "Mommy misses you so much, Adian."

"Daddy misses you too, bud," he chimes in, smiling at his son. "Daddy misses you so much."

Adian sits closer to the screen, but not as close as he was a few seconds beforehand, and babbles incoherently. They're both content to just sit and listen to his babbles, not really caring that he isn't making any sense at all.

"Dada."

His body goes stiff and his eyes widen at the word. He looks at Skye to find a matching look on her face and he shifts his eyes back to the screen. "Did he just...did he just say what I think he did?"

"I think he did," Skye says from beside him. "Rose, is that the first time he's said that?"

"As far as I know."

"I think that was his first word," Skye muses. "He's been babbling a lot more and stuff but I think that was his actual first word. I didn't think it would happen so soon, he's not even six months yet."

"Looks like you've got one of the smart ones, then," Rose tells her with a smile.

"Dada dada dada."

"Yeah, bud, I'm right here," he says to his son, a smile on his face and tears falling from his eyes. "Dada's right here."

"Are you guys coming back to get him soon?" Rose asks once Adian gets distracted by something else in the room and leaves their view. "Not that I don't love spending time with my nephew, I'm just wondering how long I'm going to be watching him so I can plan accordingly."

"We honestly thought we'd be back by now," Skye tells her. "But...things didn't turn out as we hoped so we might need you to watch him for a little longer."

"How much longer?"

"We're not sure," Grant says. "A couple of days, maybe more."

Rose nods. "Okay. Are you guys doing alright?"

"That is still yet to be seen," Skye replies. "We uh...we have some complications going on here, nothing you need to worry about, though."

"Are you sure?"

Skye nods. "Absolutely."

He sees movement out of the corner of his eye and turns to see Fitz cautiously making his way into the room, a tablet in his hands and a furrow to his brows.

He manages to get Skye's attention and gestures with his head to where Fitz is standing.

"Rose," he says to his sister, "we actually have to go now. But we'll talk to you soon, okay?"

Rose nods. "Yeah, of course."

"Can you give Adian kisses for us tonight before he goes to bed?"

"You know that I will."

"I love you, Rose," he says to his sister with a small smile.

She smiles back. "I love you too, Grant."

The video call disconnects and the two of them focus all of their attention on Fitz.

"Judging by the look on your face, I have a feeling we're not going to like whatever you're going to tell us," he remarks.

Fitz's brows furrow deeper. "Um, no, I suppose not. Skye, you said that when you came to, there were burned out holes in Grant's shirt but nothing else. I checked the readings from your monitoring anklet from when the temple collapsed," he says, looking directly at Grant. "Your body temperature was almost a couple thousand degrees Fahrenheit."

"That's very high," he says to the engineer.

Fitz shakes his head, swallowing. "No. That's inhuman. A normal person wouldn't have a temperature reading that high. Ever. I thought it was a mistake, that it must have malfunctioned during the whole event. But uh...there was...the anklet, when it was taken off you when you came back, there was only charring on the inside, on the part that was on your leg. It didn't make any sense at first when I saw it." He begins pacing back and forth in front of the cell.

"And  _how_ we found you two—basically unharmed in the collapse, with destruction all around you! I thought I was losing my mind all over again..."

He glances over at Skye, noticing the worry in her eyes as she glances around the lab. He follows her gaze to see some of the equipment starting to shake. His brows furrow.

"I thought that there was something wrong. It took a while to dawn on me, or maybe I was just afraid to think it—that...you both survived the destruction because...one, or both, of you caused it."

Skye shakes her head, standing from the cot and moving toward the door of the containment unit. "No. No no no."

"Raina wasn't the only one changed in there," Fitz explains. "And I'm pretty sure the DNA results we're running right now are gonna confirm it."

He watches as Skye backs away from the doors, holding onto the sides of her head as she shakes it, her eyes closing tightly. He winces when he feels an odd tingling sensation in his hands. He looks down, wiggling and stretching his fingers, trying to get the sensation to subside, but it doesn't, it only grows throughout his body.

"There was nothing wrong with the data in my head," Fitz continues. "There's something different about both of you."

"No!" Skye shouts, clutching her head tighter as the light above them shatters.

On instinct, Grant moves to cover her, wanting to protect her from the shards of glass raining down on them from the busted lamp. He continues to hold onto her as she sobs, her body shaking as tears stream down her face. She doesn't push him away, she lets him hold her.

He can't even begin to imagine what she's going through. He glances up to speak to Fitz, only to find the engineer gone from the room. For whatever reason, he isn't sure.

.

.

.

It's sometime later when Fitz finally returns. Grant had finally managed to get Skye calmed down enough from her breakdown and she's resting on one of the cots. She'd wanted to clean up the mess but he made her relax while he took care of it.

He's in the middle of scooping up another pile of charred glass shards when he sees the engineer entering the lab again, a tablet in his hands.

"Fitz," he says, gaining the man's attention. He can hear Skye shifting on the cot behind him, most likely sitting up to focus on the scene. "You're back."

The man nods. "I am. You've both been given a clean bill of health, and I made sure to pass the news along to Coulson."

"That's great," Skye says.

"Yeah, it is. But where did you go earlier?" Grant asks. "You got out of here pretty quickly."

The doors to the quarantine cell slide open and Fitz takes a step inside. "I, uh, um...I wanted to switch your blood results with old samples. For both of you."

Skye breathes in sharply. "The new samples are different?" She's standing beside him a second later.

"Drastically. But until everything calms down around here, I don't think we should tell anybody. There's a lot of tension happening, and the way some of the agents around here are going on...I don't think it's a good idea. For now, we should just keep this between the three of us—keep you guys safe until we figure it out."

He watches as Skye's eyes fill with tears before she steps forward and throws her arms around Fitz's neck in a tight hug, crying into his shoulder.

"This is all my fault," Skye mutters through her tears.

"No," Fitz says, hugging her back and shaking his head.

"I could have stopped her," Skye continues. "I let—I let this happen. And I'm so sorry." She glances up at Grant as she apologizes. He knows she didn't mean for this to happen to him too. She tried to convince him to stay out, but he meant what he said about not letting her go through it alone.

"There is something very wrong with me," she says, still looking up at him. "With both of us."

"No, you're just different now," Fitz replies quickly, pulling away to look her in the eyes. He glances between the both of them. "You're both different now, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Also...I have no idea if I'm going to be working or not yet for the New Year, but if I'm not, or I'm able to be home in time to watch the countdown on tv, I'm going to be doing my annual New Years Eve/Day Q&A. So feel free to leave me any questions you'd like answered on there, whether it's about my own personal life (just nothing too crazy), or about any of my stories you've read. I want as many questions as I can get. You can leave them here, message me personally, or even message them to me on my twitter, gillybean729. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back with a new chapter for ya! Things are definitely starting to pick up now in the story, so I hope you're ready. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Things are finally starting to calm down. She hadn't wanted for the news of her and Grant's new DNA to cause problems, mainly for Grant. But that's exactly what happened to them.

All it took was for one Asgardian, Lady Sif, to come down to earth and say how dangerous she and Grant were, and the next thing they know, Coulson is sending them off to a remote cabin in the middle of nowhere. Of course, the whole mess with her arms very nearly being destroyed because she kept pushing her abilities inwards didn't help matters much. And the fact that her so-called father came back into play. That didn't help either.

They haven't even been able to see Adian yet since Coulson brought them to this cabin. That's all she has wanted to do from the moment that whole underground building started collapsing on them in San Juan. But now she's stuck in the middle of nowhere with only a phone or computer screen to let her talk to her son. Which is what she's grateful to be able to be doing at the present moment.

"Hi, baby," she says with a wide smile, leaning forward to the screen. "Momma misses you so much, my sweet boy."

Adian gurgles and babbles, reaching out to the screen as Rose holds him in her lap. "Can you say hi to momma?" Rose speaks to her nephew.

"Daddy misses you too," Skye says to her son. "He's outside with Max right now, but he should be back soon."

"So how are you holding up?" Rose asks curiously. They'd been honest with her from the moment they first video chatted after getting to the cabin. Grant didn't want there to be any more secrets within his family if he could help it. Even if that meant telling his sister that he wasn't completely human. And that there's a possibility she's like him if this whole thing is based in genetics.

She lets out a heavy sigh as she leans back in her chair, messing with the sleeves of her shirt. "It's weird," she admits. "We're settling in okay, though. I haven't lived in such close quarters with your brother since being on the Bus, but even then there were four other people, and we all had separate rooms."

"Is he behaving himself?"

Skye smiles a little. "Yes, he is. I think he's still worried about upsetting me somehow, so he's always careful. I can see it in the way he moves and in his eyes before he says something. I'm not sure if he knows that I know, but I do."

"Have you thought about telling him?" Rose asks as she keeps Adian from falling head first onto the floor when he reaches for one of his fallen toys. "It might make things easier for him if you say something," she advises before leaning down to grab Adian's toy.

"I don't know. I just don't want to make things worse for him by bringing it up. I know he called Lisa some time after we got out here, so I don't want to add to whatever he's feeling."

"Alright, I'll let it go, then. I just don't want you guys to regret anything later down the line."

Skye smiles at the other woman. "I appreciate it, Rose. And I also really appreciate you watching Adian for us. There's been so much going on here lately so I guess it's a good thing we brought him to you before we went to San Juan. Also, with what's going on with me and Grant right now, I don't know about him, but I don't think I trust myself completely to hold Adian at the moment."

"You're not alone in that."

She casts a glance over her shoulder to see Grant entering the cabin again, Max trotting in beside him before settling himself down in front of the fireplace. "Hey."

He gives her a small smile. "Hey." He moves to pull up a chair next to her in front of the desk, his smile widening when he sees Adian on the other end. "Adian," he speaks up, gathering their son's attention. "Hey, bud, I miss you so much."

"Dadadada," Adian mumbles with a small smile, leaning toward the screen and reaching out.

Skye frowns. "He does that with you but not me. It's not fair."

"He will for you eventually," Grant tells her. "You're his mom and he loves you very much."

She sighs. "I know, I know."

Adian's whimpering pulls their attention away from each other and back toward the screen.

"Is he okay?" she asks, on immediate alert, worry for her son starting to course through her.

"He's fine," Rose assures her. "I think he's just getting tired, and he's still teething. I should probably go put him down, though."

Skye nods, mentally chastising herself for not recognizing that. Then again, she hasn't been taking care of her son for nearly a week even though it's felt like a lot longer. "Right, yeah. We'll let you go, then. Talk to you soon?"

"Of course. Bye, guys. And stay safe."

Skye gives her a small smile. "We'll do our best."

She ends the call and leans back in her chair again, letting out a heavy breath and running her hands through her hair. She frowns at the heavily present purple bruises on her arms, still a little upset with herself for hurting herself so badly. It isn't that it was on purpose, she just didn't want to hurt anyone around her. And as a result, she wound up hurting herself.

"Have you tried on those new gloves yet that Fitz sent over?" Grant asks and she turns her head to look at him, her eyes wandering past him for just a moment to the case sitting on the table.

She shakes her head. "No. I know they're supposed to help me, but I just...I don't know."

He nods. "I get it. It'd probably be easier if we knew more about what is going on besides just what Lady Sif said. I don't want to be dangerous. I don't want to hurt people."

"Neither do I." She stares at the case a moment longer before looking back at Grant. "Do you really think I should try them on?" she asks.

He nods. "I do. If Fitz and some of the other scientists have come up with a way to help you so you don't hurt yourself anymore, I think it's a good idea."

"I wish he could have figured out something for you," she tells him.

"We don't really know what I can do, though," he says back. "And I haven't...I don't have any...I seem to be..."

"You haven't hurt yourself like I did," she finishes the thought for him.

"I was trying to find a better way to put it."

She shakes her head. "There's no need, it's the truth." She stands from the chair and moves toward the case, running her fingers over the top of it before unlatching it and lifting the lid. "Maybe I should try them on," she says aloud, not necessarily to Grant. It's quiet in the room, she figures Grant is letting her have this moment to herself, to allow her to make the decision for herself and experience it by herself too. Not so that she feels alone, but so that she doesn't feel overwhelmed. At least, that what she hopes.

Taking a deep breath, she reaches inside for the first glove, examining it for a moment before slowly and carefully sliding it onto her arm, wincing a little as she does. Then she slides on the second one and flexes her fingers, watching as the gloves light up briefly and hum quietly.

"Whoa." She turns around to look at Grant, a tiny smile on her face when she realizes the pain in her arms is subsiding just the slightest. "How do I look?" she asks, holding up her arms to show off the gloves.

Before he can answer her, she furrows her brows at the message on the screen of the computer behind him:  _CONNECTION LOST_. "Did you accidentally trip a wire?" she asks, gesturing to the screen.

He glances at the screen before back at her, shaking his head. "Not that I know of."

She moves to check on the cables coming from the computer when there's an electric crackling sound from somewhere in the cabin. "What was that?"

"I don't know."

She quickly moves to the front door of the cabin, checking the security to make sure that it's secure. Finding that it is, she peers out the window before quickly pulling the curtains closed. She takes deep breaths in to try and control her breathing, her fingers flexing again involuntarily. The last thing she needs is to be attacked by some random maniac when she's in the middle of nowhere and doesn't have control over her new abilities.

Moving away from the window, she allows Grant to open the door and check outside. Not that she isn't capable of doing it herself, but she knows he'll feel better about the situation if he does it himself. He gives the all clear and she lets out a relieved sigh.

A loud knock at the door a second later makes her jump. She narrows her eyes at Grant. "I thought you said no one was there."

"When I looked there wasn't anyone there."

"Well, clearly someone's there now." She moves quickly toward the door, wanting to get this whole thing over with, and pulls it open. She startles at the sight of an older man standing on the other side, staring straight into the cabin, but with no eyes on his face. No eye sockets are there, just a blank patch of skin covering where his eyes should be.

"Hello, Skye," he speaks up. "I'm Gordon. May I come in?"

.

.

.

Grant stays back while Gordon is inside the cabin. He's always been wary of new people, his entire life. It was a way to keep himself safe, and it still is to an extent. He doesn't know anything about this Gordon, and he doesn't trust him. But he just sits back, listening and watching as Gordon talks to Skye about what happened to them. Gordon is focusing completely on Skye as he talks, but occasionally, the man will cast a glance in his direction. Well, as much of a glance as he can cast when he has no eyes. Apparently, they were blue.

"What does it feel like, your gift?" Gordon asks.

"I don't know," Skye replies, shifting on the couch. "Um...it's intense. Like a thousand bees are trapped inside of me. And I feel it, all the time. It's always there. And I can't stop it."

"And you, Grant?" Gordon says, looking over at him.

He shifts in his seat as well, his brows furrowing together as he thinks. "Uh...it's uh...it's kind of...not like bees like Skye. But uh...it's like there's always this heat inside some part of my body. It varies in how intense it is, but it's usually in my hands. I feel like I'm going to set something on fire if I touch it for too long."

Skye looks at him. "You never told me that."

He shrugs. "You were dealing with your own problems. I didn't want to add mine to the mix." He avoids her gaze and looks back at Gordon. "It's always there too, and I can't stop it either."

"Why would either of you want to stop it?" Gordon asks them next.

"Because I destroy everything around me," Skye answers the question.

"And we don't want to hurt anyone we care about," Grant adds. He doesn't trust the man completely, but he needs to know at least some of what they're feeling. He needs to know why they don't want to keep living like this.

"That is simply not true," Gordon replies with a small smile. "About destroying everything around you." He focuses in on Skye, talking to her about her abilities, and explaining things to her that no one else has yet. But then, this Gordon obviously knows what he's talking about and what they're dealing with. Then he focuses on Grant, talking to him about his abilities, about the possibilities of what he can do. He admits that he doesn't know much about his abilities, but that he wants to help.

"Most gifts come with a price," Gordon tells them both, standing behind the ratty couch and leaning against it. "But you both could learn to manage what you've been given." He looks away then. "I apologize. I'm saying too much. This is probably not the best place to continue our conversation. You don't have the tools or the understanding that you need just yet."

"To do what?" Skye asks.

"To be who you were always meant to be. Without fear, without pain. We can offer that to you. To both of you."

"How?"

"I'll take you to a place where you can be with people like us."

"Us?" Grant asks, standing from his place and moving closer to Skye. "How many are there?"

"You can learn about yourselves," Gordon says instead. "About your gifts. You can be safe. You'll be able to interact with your peers without fear that you're going to hurt them. But only if you want to come." It's quiet for a moment before Gordon straightens up and buttons his jacket. "When you're ready, I'll find you."

Gordon leaves and then it's just him and Skye alone again in the cabin again, silence surrounding them once more as they both consider everything that Gordon said to them. If there's a place where they can go to be with others who are going through the same thing as them, then it's something they should definitely consider. But how much longer can they realistically be away from their son? But if they go to this place, and learn about what they are now, then maybe they won't be afraid to hold their son and risk hurting him.

"You're considering this."

He looks up at Skye and slowly nods his head. He breathes in deeply. "Yeah, I am. I know I didn't tell you about what my abilities felt like, I just didn't want you to worry. I still don't. I just...I've lived in fear for so long, Skye, I don't want to go through that anymore."

She shakes her head. "No, I get it, I really do. I don't want to be scared either. I just...we don't know anything about him."

"We know that he's like us," he reminds her. "His change was physical, you can actually see it, and he seems to have adjusted pretty well to it. Ours was only on the inside, there's no indication just looking at us that we're any different. Maybe whoever helped Gordon come to terms with his change, can help us with ours. I don't want to be scared to hold my son, Skye."

"Me neither. I guess, maybe we just need to think on it a little more, it's a big decision to make."

He nods. "Maybe we should sleep on it."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'm uh, I'm just going to go…" she trails off, gesturing to the bathroom before grabbing one of her bags and moving in there. He knows she's going to pump more milk for Adian, despite their son not being there with them. He knows that she still doesn't feel completely comfortable talking about that stuff with him, and he doesn't really blame her. They're not in any kind of relationship and he wouldn't expect her to be so open about those things with him.

While she's busy with that, he takes to settling himself on the couch and continuing one of the few books he'd brought with him when they came. As he reads, though, he can't help when his mind wanders to everything that Gordon told them. There's a small voice at the back of his head, telling him that it seems too good to be true, but he pushes it back. He wants to feel better about himself, he doesn't want to be scared.

A trilling from the cell phone on the table draws his attention away from the pages of the book. He finds Skye already moving for it, his brows furrowing together when he realizes he didn't even notice her come out of the bathroom.

He focuses on the call when she answers, putting it on speaker. "Hello?"

"Skye."

"May, you're on speaker," she says as she sets the phone down on the table. "What's happening? We couldn't connect to you guys."

"You two need to get out of there. Now."

They both sit up straighter and he sets his book aside. "What? Why?" Skye asks. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a panel on the Southwest corner of the compound. It'll let you bring down the laser-grid fence."

"May, stop," Skye says.

"You guys can do this. I believe in both of you. But you need to run. Now. They're coming for you."

"Who—who's coming for us?" he asks, seeing the look of panic in Skye's eyes.

"SHIELD."

They share a look of concern and confusion right before the power cuts out and the line goes dead.

"May?" Skye says in the direction of the phone and he can hear her breathing getting heavier as she leans forward. "May?"

"Skye," he speaks up, drawing her attention to him. "We need to go. We can't stay here anymore."

"But…"

He nods. "I know. But I don't think we have a choice right now. Grab what you need, I'll get Max and meet you outside."

He listens to her feet against the hardwood flooring as he attaches Max's leash to his collar and then does a quick glance over the room before deciding he doesn't have time to gather up anything. With the power shutting off like that, whoever is after them is obviously close.

He follows Skye to the door, not bothering to close it behind him as they make their way down the front porch of the cabin.

A quinjet roars above them, a bright searchlight from its underside shining down into the woods, most likely trying to find them.

Skye stumbles over her feet as she turns and stares up at the plane. He grabs onto her elbow carefully before she can fall and steadies her.

"This way," he says quietly, guiding her through the trees. "Watch your step."

They pick up their pace as they move, a second quinjet having now joined the search.

"We need to keep moving," he says to Skye as they bob and weave through some low hanging branches.

"Where exactly are we going?" she asks him.

"I don't know. But we need to try and get as far away from them as possible. Whoever they are."

"We need to find that panel May told us about. I think she said it was in the Southwest corner."

He takes a moment to look around them and think as he guides them through the brush. He keeps his eyes trained for the panel May told them about as they move.

"I think I see it," Skye announces, moving ahead of him.

His eyes lock on the panel she found, a small green light in one of the corners at the top. His body stiffens and he turns in time to see an agent covered from head to toe in tac gear quickly approaching them.

"Skye," he calls out to her.

She turns and grabs the gun that the agent has, lifting the barrel into the air as it's shot off.

"They probably heard that," he says to her. "We need to get out of here."

"A little busy at the moment," she replies, engaging in a hand-to-hand fight with the agent. Her moves are a little sloppy, seeing as she hasn't done much training in recent months. She's done enough to stay fit since Adian was born, but she hasn't done any heavy training. He has a feeling she won't last long against the fully-trained again unless he intervenes.

He drops Max's leash on the ground, trusting the dog to stay put, and then jumps into the fight. He shoots Skye a quick glance, nodding in Max's direction before focusing on the agent in front of him. They trade blows back and forth. The other agent gets in a few good hits. But so does he. It doesn't take long for him to knock the other man unconscious.

He turns to Skye to find her with the agent's discarded handgun from her spot kneeling down next to Max, the puppy huddling close to her side as he growls lowly at the unconscious agent.

"You okay?" he asks her.

She nods and swallows, keeping the gun trained on the agent on the ground. "Yeah. You?"

"I think so."

Noises in the brush and the soft clicking of a gun immediately draws his attention to the edge of the small clearing. He instantly recognizes Bobbi Morse as she moves out of the trees with a man that is unfamiliar to him.

"No!" Bobbi shouts in their direction. "Skye!"

The other man raises his gun in their direction and he can see the moment in Skye's eyes when she reacts on instinct, no thought except for the one to survive. He's had it himself more times than he can count.

He moves on instinct too, standing next to her and clenching his fists when the heat that had already been there starts to increase in intensity. He watches as Skye raises her hands in front of her, a move of self-defense if there ever was one.

It all seems to happen in slow motion. The man fires his gun at the same moment a massive shockwave is sent out from where he and Skye are standing, a slight red-orange tinge to it that he suspects came from him. The wave spreads out fast, taking down a large tree in its path and sending Bobbi and the other man to the ground. A few of the trees around them shake and get scorched.

He can see the fear in Skye's eyes as she watches the destruction happen in front of them, the exact feeling that neither of them ever wanted to experience again.

"What did I do?" she whispers quietly to herself.

He looks down at his fists to see small flames flickering at his fingertips before disappearing. He looks back at Skye and takes a small step toward her. "This wasn't your fault," he tries to assure her. "You can't blame yourself."

"I think we need to take Gordon up on his offer," she says to him.

He nods. "I think you're right."

Electricity cracks behind them and they both turn around to see Gordon appearing out of thin air, landing between them and standing up straight.

"Would you like to go home?" he asks, glancing between the both of them.

Skye nods and looks over at him. Grant bends down to pick up Max, hoping that however they're getting to where they're going, it won't hurt the dog, and then reaches out for Skye's hand. She immediately grabs onto him, holding tightly to him as Gordon wraps his arms around the both of them from behind.

Electricity cracks again, echoing in his ears. There's a bright, intense light that surrounds them and he can't help but close his eyes. He can't see it happen, but he knows in that moment that they're gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Happy Holidays to everyone as well! Hope you're all having fun with your friends and/or family and treating yourself to a good break from school/work/life. It's Christmas Eve where I'm at, and before I go to work, I wanted to leave you with a new chapter. A little present from me to you. Thanks for being so awesome at reading/reviewing. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

The first thing she's aware of when she wakes up is the distinct tingling sensation all over her skin. It's different from the tingling she gets with her abilities. This one is vastly different and she's not quite sure how she feels about it. She's not wearing a single stitch of clothing, save for the two pieces of fabric that are wrapped around her chest and her lower body, leaving a small scrap of skin on her stomach visible. Her eyes are immediately drawn to the small needles sticking up all over her skin, and her brows furrow together tightly in confusion.

She looks around and takes everything in, despite the slight blur to her vision still. This isn't the cabin, this isn't the bed in the cabin or her bed back at the Playground. It's not even the bed at Rose's place. This is somewhere completely different, somewhere she knows she's never been before.

"Hey."

She follows the voice to see Gordon standing in front of her and it all comes rushing back, everything that happened at the cabin. She has no idea if those agents are dead or if she injured them accidentally. But will they even see it as an accident?

"Everything's gonna be okay. You're safe now."

"Gordon, where am I? Where's Grant?"

"Grant's in another room getting the same treatment as you. This is the place I told you two about. You called for me. Do you remember?"

"How long have we been here?" she asks instead, casting another glance around the unfamiliar room.

"Two days."

"T—two—I need to—I need to go. They need me. Something bad has happened." She tries to sit up but finds herself physically incapable of doing so. She fights back the tears. "Why can't I move? What are you doing to me?"

"We're healing you," another voice joins the mix as the door closes. She follows the voice to find a young blond man entering the room. "Leaving now wouldn't exactly be—" He chuckles as he moves to the computer monitor next to her bed. "Have you ever made microwave popcorn? Leave it in too long, and it's charcoal. Take it out too soon, and it's a bag of kernels." He looks over at her and shakes his head. "That might be the worst analogy ever. Gordo, help me out here."

"You are on your own with this one." Gordon looks at her and smiles. "I have to go now. You're in very good hands. He's smarter than he looks."

"How do  _you_  know that?" the other man questions.

Gordon simply gives an amused smile before leaving her alone with the unnamed blonde man. She lies her head back down on the pillow, her mind racing with thoughts of Grant, hoping that he's doing okay with whatever is going on. And Max. She hopes the puppy isn't too scared. She glances down when another sharp prick moves through her skin and her eyes catch sight of her stretch marks and she thinks of her son. Rose is probably worried since they haven't called her in two days, or at least texted her to let them know that they're still doing okay.

"He's been by your side since the moment you got here. Well, yours and the guy you came with."

"Who are you?" she asks, frustrated with not knowing everything that's happening.

He looks up at her. "Sorry. I thought—I'm Lincoln, your transitioner. Right. I keep forgetting you're new to this." He moves closer to her bed, a tablet in his hands, and continues speaking, eventually grabbing a chair and sitting down to explain.

She listens as he explains what's happening to her, why she's in bed with needles sticking out of her skin, that they would've preferred to start the whole process so much earlier.

"How long?" she cuts him off. "How long?" she repeats when he just gives her a questioning look instead of responding. "When can I go?"

"You got places to be, people to see?"

"I'm worried about my friends," she tells him. She doesn't mention her son, though. She doesn't know this man, doesn't know if she can trust him. She knows they haven't actually talked about it, but she's pretty sure Grant doesn't want anyone here knowing about their son either. "I think they're in danger."

" _You're_  the one that's in danger, Skye," he tells her as if he's trying to drill it into her brain like it's something that should just be common knowledge to her. But it isn't. "Remember? You and the man that came in with you, you're being hunted."

She shakes her head as she looks up at the ceiling, tears starting to form in her eyes but she forces them back. She refuses to believe that SHIELD is actually hunting her. Coulson wouldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let her be hunted down like an animal. Right? He sent her and Grant to the cabin so that they would be safe. Didn't he?

"Could I—could you leave, please?" she asks after a moment, avoiding eye contact with Lincoln.

She keeps her eyes away from him, listening to the sound of his feet as he walks back toward the door of the room that she's in.

Once the door closes, she lets her tears fall down her cheeks, the weight of everything that's happened over the last few days starting to crash down on her. She doesn't know how much more she can take.

.

.

.

A tentative knock at the door pulls Skye's attention away from the mirror in front of her. She'd finally been cleared to get up and out of the bed, finding the clothes she'd come with washed and folded neatly in one corner of the room. She took her time getting dressed, unsure if she actually wanted to venture out and see the place she was brought to. All she really wants is to see her son and hold him close and snuggle up with him in bed. That's what she wants most.

Moving to the door, she pulls it open and lets out a breath of relief when she sees Grant standing on the other side. She doesn't hesitate in throwing herself into his arms, his own wrapping around her as they hug tightly.

"You're okay," she breathes out, pressing her face into the fabric of his shirt.

He nods against her, burying his face a little more in her hair. "Yeah. I was in the room next door. They had all these pins stuck in me."

She pulls back just enough to look at him. "Me too. Did you have that Lincoln guy helping you?"

"Him and Gordon. Are you doing okay?"

She shrugs. "I guess so. I'm just worried about Rose and Adian. I know they're not in any kind of danger, but Rose is probably really worried about us. And Adian is still so young, he's probably confused about why we're not there."

"As soon as we can find a phone we're going to call her and check in on Adian. I promise." His hands are on her shoulders, keeping her steady on her feet. All they want to do is get back to a semi-normal life with their son. "I'm worried about him too," he tells her. "But as soon as we can, we're going to get out of here and we're going to go see him."

She nods slowly. "Okay. I just...this is so much to deal with."

"I know. But you're not alone. You've got me here, we'll get through it together."

She gives him a soft smile and goes to reply when there's a soft rapping on the doorframe to the room they're in. She looks over Grant's shoulder to see Lincoln standing in the doorway, a tablet in his hands and the tiniest hint of a smile on his face.

"How are you guys feeling?" he asks, stepping into the room.

Skye sighs, retracting herself from Grant's arms but staying close to him. "Kind of normal."

"Same."

"Normal's good," Lincoln tells them, his eyes flitting between the two of them for a moment. "We flushed your lymphatic and circulatory systems, so you guys are going to be weak for a few days but…"

"We need to get a message to our friends," she tells him. They do need to contact their friends at SHIELD, but her first priority is calling Rose and checking in on her son. Then she'll worry about everyone else.

"Gordon's the only one who can make contact with the outside world," Lincoln tells her and her heart deflates. Out of the corner of her eyes, she can see Grant frowning deeply at the news too. "We can talk to him when he gets back."

She nods, disappointed. "Right." She glances around the room, really taking it all in. "So, where exactly are we?"

"No one really knows," Lincoln says, quickly moving toward a large set of wooden doors off to the side. "Uh, the official name is Chinese, I think—Lai Shi—doesn't exactly translate." He pushes the doors open and she instinctively walks toward them, reaching out to grab Grant's hand and pull him along behind her.

"Wow," she says as she breathes out once she sees the view of the mountains in the distance and the wide expanse below them.

"So we just call it 'Afterlife'."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Also, I'm planning on doing my annual New Years Eve/Day Q&A video, but I still need questions for it. If there's ever anything you've wanted to know about me, my stories, my life, whatever, just leave them in a review. Thanks again!
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a good holiday break from whatever it is you're doing in life. I'm back again with a new chapter for ya. We're really, really starting to get into things now.
> 
> Enjoy!

He stays as close to Skye's side as possible while they explore Afterlife with the man who helped them with their so-called 'transition'. He listens as Skye talks with Lincoln, the other man explaining to them about the place they're at and the people who reside there. He tunes in and out during the whole thing, holding Max securely in his arms despite the puppy squirming to get down and explore. He doesn't trust this place yet, or its people, so he doesn't want to let the dog out of his sight, even if he would be on his leash. It'd be the same if it were Adian in his arms instead of the dog. Then again, Adian can't walk yet, so he'd need to be in his arms anyway.

He tunes in again as he hears Skye and Lincoln discussing the fact that Afterlife is a place where people come and go freely, using it as a place to stay when they need somewhere safe to go for a while. A waystation of sorts. He notices the people watching them as they walk, staring at them with a look he is all too familiar with. It makes his skin crawl.

"Everyone is staring at us," Skye comments.

"Gordon didn't explain?"

"No. I thought you said that everyone here is like us and that this happens all the time."

"That's what I understood too," Grant finally joins the conversation, focusing on the blonde man.

They come to a stop as Lincoln turns to face both of them. He chuckles. "Are you kidding? This never happens."

Grant shares a quick glance with Skye, his uneasiness about the place growing by the second.

"Things here have always been done a certain way," Lincoln continues, before explaining to them how things actually work around Afterlife, making it obvious why people around there don't seem to like them too much despite not actually knowing them.

"And we jumped the line," he concludes, casting another quick glance at Skye.

"And not only did you two go through without permission or prep, but you did it old-school, with a Diviner in a Kree Temple. That hasn't happened for thousands of years. You can see why some of these people might be a little envious." He chuckles quietly again.

"We didn't ask for this," he tells Lincoln, taking a small step forward to try and make his point clear. "I'm sure we'd both gladly change places with any of them. We have lives, people we care about that we don't want to get hurt by being around us."

"I understand," Lincoln says with a small nod.

"There was a woman who changed with us," Skye tells the other man. "Raina...Gordon took her and my father. Are they here?"

"Gordon takes people everywhere. It's his job to keep us all safe. I promise, there is no one here who will harm you. You're protected."

He takes a small step toward Skye the millisecond after Lincoln does. He doesn't like the way the blonde man is looking at Skye, the way he's speaking to the both of them but usually only looking at Skye. He knows he can't claim Skye in any way, shape, or form, that they're not in an actual relationship, but it won't stop him from being protective. She's the mother of his son, and if she wants to be with someone else, he'll be damn sure that only the right person is going to be around his son long term.

.

.

.

"How do you feel about this place?"

He glances over his shoulder to see Skye approaching him, stopping when she's right next to him and giving him a quick smile before facing the scene in front of them.

"Do you want my honest opinion?" he asks in return.

She shrugs. "Couldn't hurt."

"I'm not sure how I feel about it." He continues watching the scene ahead of him, of people milling about and living their lives. It's been a few hours since he and Skye were allowed out of their rooms and he'd taken some time alone to get his head wrapped around everything. It'd been difficult for a minute, not to be able to call Lisa and talk to her, but he thinks he's doing relatively okay.

He isn't sure exactly what Skye was up to while he was by himself, but he figures if she wants to tell him, then she will. But a small part of him thinks it has something to do with Lincoln, and he really hopes that's not the case because he doesn't want to really lose her before he's even had a chance to have her. He wants to be with her, he's just waiting for her to be comfortable enough around him for that to be a possibility.

"Really?"

He nods. "Yeah. There's just...something off about it, I guess. I can't put my finger on it."

"There's something else on your mind."

He sighs. "The universe is getting back at me."

"What?"

"My abilities, what I can do, it's karma for every bad thing I did in my life." He glances down at his hands before looking back at the skyline. "My insides don't feel like they did before we got here, it's settled down a lot, but I still don't like this. I just...I just want to be able to hold Adian without the fear that I'm going to accidentally burn him for whatever reason. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something like that were to happen."

"I know how you feel," she tells him. "I'm scared about hurting Adian too. But I think it might be good for us to be here, even if it's just for a little while. So we can hopefully learn how to deal with all of this." She shifts on her feet. "I, uh, I was with Lincoln earlier."

His body stiffens at the mention of the other man but he doesn't say anything. It's not his place.

"He took me to this place, I'll take you there if you want, and he was telling me how our abilities don't have to be destructive and terrifying. He showed me what he's capable of. He has these electrical powers and it's actually pretty cool."

He glances at her to see her staring off with a small smile on her face. "He has powers too?"

She nods. "Mm-hmm." She looks up at him. "You don't have to believe that your powers are karma, Grant. And you don't have to be scared of them. Neither of us does. I think...I think that if we stay here a little longer, and learn to control them well enough, we'll be able to go home and see our son without the fear of hurting him."

"You really believe that?" he questions.

"Yeah, I really do."

He trusts Skye, he always will, but he doesn't trust this place, not completely. There's still something about it that puts him on edge and he hasn't determined yet what exactly it is. He just knows that he doesn't like it. That he doesn't want to stay here longer than is absolutely necessary for them to get a handle on their abilities.

"As soon as we can get a handle on what we're capable of we can leave?" he asks with a quirked brow.

She nods. "Yeah. I mean...I still don't know how everything works around here, but I'm sure whoever runs this place will be fine with us leaving. Lincoln already told us that it's more of a waystation and not a prison or anything."

"I know. I just don't want to be away from Adian for longer than necessary. We had to hear his first word over a damn video call, Skye. We should have been there in person for that."

She sighs. "I know. I don't want to be away from him either, but I also don't want to be scared to hold him. I can't force you to stay here with me, but I—"

"If you're staying, I'm staying," he assures her quickly. "Neither of us is going to deal with this without the other. We got into this mess together, and we're going to get through it together too."

She nods, the edges of her lips quirking up. "Okay. I think that's a good plan. And maybe we can—"

"Skye!"

Turning away from each other, Grant's jaw hardens involuntarily when he sees Lincoln approaching them, a smile on the other man's face, his eyes locked solely on Skye.

"Oh, Grant, nice to see you, man."

He just grunts in response, not trusting himself to speak.

"Lincoln, what are you doing over here?" Skye asks him.

"I was just hoping we could continue our conversation from earlier," he says. "On the mountaintop, I showed you what I could. But you still haven't shown me what you can do." Lincoln casts a quick glance over at him. "What either of you can do."

He can see her hesitating to tell him.

"You'll teach me to control it? To teach both of us?"

"Once I know what we're dealing with, a guide will be selected to help each of you master your abilities."

"How long does it take to learn?" Grant asks, eager to get back to his son as soon as possible.

"That depends on the gift—how much you've physically changed," Lincoln explains. "You guys are a piece of cake, compared to the other one—total physical transformation, and we still have no idea what her gift is." He chuckles quietly, shaking his head.

 _The other one._  That can't mean what Grant thinks it does. He casts a glance at Skye to see her with a similar expression to the one he's sure is on his face as well.

"You told us we were the only ones," Skye says to Lincoln, her brows furrowing together tightly.

"What?"

She takes a step toward him. "You said that Grant and I were the first people to transition here in a really long time."

Lincoln stares at her for a moment before scoffing quietly and shaking his head. "That's not what I meant."

"She's here. You lied to us."

Lincoln holds his hands up. "I said there's no one here who will harm you, and that's true. She's on her own path, Skye, just like you and Grant. She's having a rough transition and deserves the same care."

"People died because of her," he cuts in, taking a step closer, wanting to protect Skye at all costs from whatever comes next. "If we weren't like this...Skye and I could have been taken away from our so—from the people who need us." They never discussed it after arriving, but he's fairly certain Skye doesn't want to reveal to just anyone about Adian, not knowing exactly who they can trust here.

"Where is she?" Skye asks Lincoln, her eyes locked on his in a staredown.

"Skye."

He quickly follows after Skye as she starts moving, not bothering to listen to Lincoln's shouts from behind them as they move. He may not know what's going on in Skye's head, but he's sure that it has something to do with making the woman pay who basically ruined their lives.

He stumbles a little on his feet when the ground shakes, looking at Skye to see her fists clenched tightly as she keeps moving down the paths of Afterlife.

"Skye, let's check over there," he calls out to her, gesturing with his head to a small building off to the side. "I don't know why, but I got this feeling all of a sudden."

She nods silently before moving ahead of him and somehow throwing the doors open without touching them. Probably a side-effect of whatever her powers are exactly.

"Raina!" she shouts as she steps inside the building, and he's right there behind her, his own fingers flexing as heat builds again in the tips.

"Skye…"

They both pause at the voice coming from the dark corner ahead of them, a hooded figure shifting in the darkness.

"And Mr. Ward. Isn't this interesting? I had a feeling I might see  _you_ , Skye. But I had no idea that your friend would change as well," she says and the way she's talking has every nerve ending in his body completely on edge.

He hears footsteps hit quickly behind him and he doesn't need to look to know Lincoln is there. Can't the man just leave them alone? Leave them to do what needs to be done?

"Skye, Grant, please, let's just go," Lincoln speaks up.

"Let them stay," Raina replies. "We three have so much to talk about."

"What happened to you?" Skye questions.

"Destiny…apparently."

Grant can hear the bitterness in her voice, the way she says destiny like she regrets going down to that temple and igniting the change in all three of them. Maybe if she'd known what she'd end up like, she wouldn't have gone down there and he and Skye would be with their son right now.

They listen as she goes on, standing from her chair and facing away from them as she talks about how different her life is now. How drastically things have changed for her.

"You got what you deserved," Skye tells her.

"And so did you," Raina fires back.

"I didn't deserve any of this. Neither did Grant.  _You_ did this to us!"

Lincoln takes a small step toward them. "Skye."

"No, you have brought nothing but pain into my life—my father, the mist. My son could have lost both of his parents if you were wrong about all of this!"

He sucks in a sharp breath, no doubt in his mind that if Skye wasn't so worked up about everything that she wouldn't have brought their son into things.

"I didn't make either of you follow me into that chamber. You wanted to go, Skye."

Raina slowly steps out of the shadows as she talks, Skye shaking her head as she listens to everything the other woman is saying to her. He's always felt uncomfortable with Raina's fascination with Skye, and that feeling has only increased tenfold since arriving at Afterlife.

"No!" Skye shouts when Raina pulls her hood back to reveal a face and head covered in long thorns, saying how she and Skye are the same, despite the differences in their physical appearance.

Seconds later, Raina gasps as her entire body starts to vibrate and he chances a glance over at Skye to see her with her fists clenched tightly again, focusing on Raina with wide eyes.

"So that's what you are," Raina says, pure amazement in her voice. She falls to the ground with a quiet grunt, her body continuing to shake and vibrate.

"You need to stop," Lincoln says, trying to move closer to Skye, but Grant steps into his path. This isn't a matter of not wanting Skye to be with another man anymore, this is a matter of keeping someone from letting Skye do what she needs to do. He has faith that she won't go all the way, she's never been that kind of person. She'll get her frustrations out and then her humanity will take over and she'll stop.

"No!" Raina says from the ground. "Finish this! End my nightmares!"

"Enough!"

They all turn at the new voice entering the fray, finding a tall, Asian woman with faint scars across her face standing in the doorway to the room. Her eyes are locked on Skye and he instantly has this tugging in his gut, his fingers tingling again.

"Who are you?" Skye asks, her breathing heavy.

The woman takes a small step forward, her eyes never leaving Skye. "My name is Jiaying."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Sorry it's been a while. Don't really have an excuse other than work and laziness.
> 
> Enjoy!

"I caused an avalanche."

"What?"

A laugh escapes past Skye's lips at the look on Grant's face when she tells him what she did, his brows furrowed together tightly and his eyes shining with concern and worry. He's been nothing but concerned and worried since they arrived at Afterlife. She can't say she blames him for it, though. She was worried in the beginning too.

"I caused an avalanche," she repeats, taking up the seat next to Grant, watching Max run around the patch of grass in front of them. "Jiaying was helping me learn how to control my abilities."

"That's good. So you've got a handle on them, then?"

She shakes her head. "Not yet, we've just barely started. I'm seeing her again later to do some more stuff. But according to Lincoln, she never trains people."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I guess she's in charge of this whole place but she never trains people who come here. So either she really likes me…"

"Or she's wary of what you can do."

She nods, letting out a sigh as she leans back into the bench. "Yeah. But how did your day go so far?" she asks, looking up at him.

"Not as well as yours," he tells her. "They still haven't given me a so-called 'guide', so I'm basically left fending for myself for the time being."

Her brows furrow together tightly. "No one's been assigned to you?"

He shakes his head. "Nope. Can't say I blame them, though."

"Why's that?"

"I may or may not have gotten a little violent after waking up here and I didn't know where you were," he admits quietly, his head down.

"You did?"

"Yeah. And apparently word spreads quickly around here. I was worried and confused, I didn't know what had happened, or, at least, I couldn't remember. But then everything came back. Also, I don't think that people here like how specially treated we are."

"What do you mean?"

"I think we have the nicest accommodations here. And you're being personally trained by Jiaying, the leader of this place. Everyone here wishes that she could train them when they go through the change. At least, if they go through the change because not everyone does."

"How do you know all of this?" she asks curiously.

He breathes in deeply, sitting up a little straighter. "I wasn't known as the best since Romanoff for nothing, Skye. I know how to get information from people without actually talking to them or letting anyone know that I'm there."

She nods. "Right, yeah."

Silence fills the space around them, save for the ambient noises of life among them, and she stares down at her feet, kicking her toes against the pavement. She feels a little bad that while he has no one to help him learn his abilities, she has the leader of Afterlife helping her. It's not fair. Well, none of what they're going through is fair. All she wants to do is get back to her son, to hold him again and kiss his little face and cuddle with him at night before bed.

If she works hard while she's here for however long then hopefully she'll be able to get back to Adian sooner rather than later and won't miss too much more of his growing up. She's heard that babies grow up fast, and she's worried that the next time she sees him, things will be weird and different. She doesn't want that. At all.

She knows that Grant doesn't want it either, that all he wants to do is get back to their son. But if no one is going to show him how to adjust to his new abilities, how is he ever going to feel comfortable around their son again?

"Hey, Grant?"

"Yeah?"

She shifts on the bench to face him, her brows furrowed slightly. "Um, I was wondering...since you don't have anyone to help you yet, if maybe...if maybe you'd want to come to my session with Jiaying this afternoon?"

"Will she mind?" he asks.

Skye shrugs. "I don't know. I just...you should have someone helping you. Even if Jiaying is only helping me directly, maybe you'll pick up on a few techniques to implement yourself."

Grant shifts on the bench, scratching at the back of his neck, his head tilting in thought. "I mean...it's not a terrible idea…"

She smiles. "Great. So you'll come with?"

The corners of his lips quirk up. "Yeah, I'll come with you."

"Awesome."

.

.

.

"Skye, great, you're here. And I see you've brought a friend."

She glances back at Grant still standing in the doorway and subtly gestures for him to move inside. She looks back at Jiaying with a small smile. "Yeah, I hope you don't mind. He still hasn't been assigned a guide and I figured he might be able to learn a thing or two if he sat in while you helped me. I hope that's okay. I realize I probably should have asked first, but I—"

Jiaying holds a hand up gently to cut her off, giving her a soft smile. "It's alright. If you'll feel more comfortable with him here, then I don't see the harm in it."

Skye lets out a breath. "Great. Thank you."

They spend a few minutes getting settled in the room, Grant holding Max securely in his arms, having not wanted to leave the puppy alone in his room.

Once Grant's sitting in a chair off to the side, Skye turns to face Jiaying, finding a table in the center of the room with a row of wine glasses set up on it. Each of the glasses is filled partway with water.

"Okay," Jiaying speaks up, "I play a note—you hold it."

Skye nods. "Okay." She takes a deep breath and focuses on the water glasses, listening attentively as Jiaying runs a fingertip dipped in water slowly along the rim of one of the glasses.

Raising one hand, she flexes her fingers as she forces all of her attention to focus on one of the glasses at the other end of the table. It takes a second, but the water inside starts moving, a high-pitched noise sounding from it.

She hears Jiaying gasp quietly but she doesn't move her focus, intent on perfecting her abilities the best she can so she can go home.

A second glass joins in a second later, then a third, then a fourth. The final glasses join in, each one adding to the sound, making it a little bit louder each time.

The edges of her lips curl up, amazed at herself for being able to control so many glasses at once without anything bad happening.

She deflates quickly, realizing she celebrated too soon in her own head, when all the glasses suddenly shatter, sending water and glass shards across the floor. She moves back quickly, hearing a quiet shuffling that tells her Grant is standing from his chair and moving closer to her.

She casts a quick glance at him, giving him a small smile in thanks, before looking back at Jiaying, the other woman with a genuine smile on her face as she moves to her.

"Your gift is quite destructive, but look at the music you can make." She looks directly at her. "That was amazing. So what? We'll drink from wooden cups at dinner."

She takes a deep, shaky breath in, her eyes never leaving the broken glasses as her mind races a mile a minute, forcing her back to some of the darker moments of her childhood. Moments that she's tried so hard to forget.

"What's wrong?" Jiaying asks.

Skye shakes her head, letting out another breath. "Nothing. That's just it. Everything is great here. It feels like home, which...never ends well."

"Ends? We're not going anywhere."

She tilts her head at the woman, a disbelieving smile crawling over her lips. "You sure? Because mistrust of home is my other superpower." She casts another quick glance at Grant to see him frowning, somehow knowing that he knows exactly what she's talking about, despite not knowing all the finer details of her messed up past.

"Where is this coming from?" Jiaying questions.

Skye shakes her head a little, silently criticizing herself for even bring up the subject. "Nothing. It's stupid." She sighs. "I broke a crystal decanter once at a foster family's house, and now the glass, and—"

"They sent you back for  _that_?" Jiaying asks, her face falling quickly.

"Well, I tried some of the scotch, too," she says offhandedly, chancing another look at Grant to find him with an amused smile at her little remark. "But yes," she says to Jiaying. "Something bad happens every time I feel settled somewhere. I'm twenty-five, and I have never spent more than two years anywhere. The second I made friends at the orphanage — gone. And god forbid I called a foster family 'home.' It's 'pack your bags'. I got the news on my birthday once, which is a complete farce, because I don't even know when I was born."

"I'm so sorry," Jiaying tells her.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. was the closest I ever came to having a real family. Well, apart from...nevermind." She shakes her head, not wanting to bring up the subject of her son at a time like this. "I belonged there, saw what I could be. Even that ended with agents hunting me and Grant through the woods."

"We're not gonna turn on you  _or_ abandon you," Jiaying insists, and Skye can see the glistening of the older woman's eyes as she says it. "This is a safe place. For both of you."

She takes a small step toward the woman. "See, you say that, but I know you're not being straight with me. Why do you care if I stay or go, and why are you trea—"

"July 2nd."

Skye's eyes go wide involuntarily as Jiaying takes a few steps away. She looks over at Grant to see him moving closer to her, concern and surprise written all over his face. She subconsciously reaches a hand out to him, grateful when he takes it, allowing her some sense of stability for whatever's coming next.

Jiaying turns around to face them. "You were born on July 2nd."

She knows her eyes are filling up with tears, can feel the pressure building as she listens to the woman speak, telling her what she's been longing to hear for a very long time. She squeezes Grant's hand tightly, needing his support and comfort.

"He said you didn't age," she whispers.

Jiaying speaks again, a single tear rolling down her cheek, a watery laugh escaping past her lips as she continues the story.

"It's you. You're my…"

"Deep down I think you knew," Jiaying tells her.

Skye nods slowly, her voice breaking, "I was too afraid to hope." She swallows thickly, her mind still trying to wrap itself around the fact that her mother is standing right in front of her, completely alive. She's always feared the worst about her parents, that they were dead or never bothered to look for her. But now she's standing here in front of a woman she just barely met, but knows with every fiber of her being that it's really her mother.

People always say that the bond between a mother and her child is unlike anything else on the planet. She never really believed that until she had Adian, no doubt in her mind that she'd move heaven and earth to find him if he was ever taken away from her. And the fact that her little guy knew who she was from the second he came into the world, without having ever seen her face until that moment, it was magical. And despite not remembering this woman from the very early stages of her life, she knows that it's her mother.

.

.

.

A knock on his door pulls Grant's attention away from the open book in his lap. He quickly sets it aside, gently moving Max off of his lap and onto the comforter before standing from the bed and moving to the door.

"Skye, hey," he says when he pulls the door open to find the brunette standing on the other side, wringing her hands together and biting her lip between her teeth. "How are you doing...after everything?"

"I'm, uh, can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course." He steps aside and allows her into the room, closing the door behind her and turning to face her. "How, uh, how did things go with your mom?" he asks her carefully, knowing she'd spent the last few hours spending time with her mom and learning more about her past.

After the shocking reveal, Skye had asked for a few minutes alone and then left, wandering off to somewhere else. Jiaying had followed not too soon after, and he hadn't seen either of them since.

But now Skye's standing in front of him, her hands wringing together as she bites her lip between her teeth and shifts back and forth on her feet.

"My uh, my dad's here too."

"He is?"

She nods. "Yeah. I guess Gordon brought him here when he brought Raina. The three of us had dinner together and we talked." Her brows furrow together tightly and he sees her throat jump as she swallows. She looks up at him. "Could I...I know it might be weird, but could you...can we…" Her eyes flit over to his bed and he takes a small step toward her.

"Do you want to sit on the bed?" he asks.

She nods silently and then moves immediately for the bed, climbing onto it and sitting straight-backed with her legs crossed.

He climbs onto the other side, settling himself against the headboard with his legs stretched out in front of him. The next thing he knows, Skye is curling up against him, her arms snaking around his waist and her head landing on his chest.

"Skye…?"

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "I just...can you just hold me, please?"

He nods. "Yeah, of course." He wraps his arms around her body to hold her close, and he can't help the small smile tugging at his lips when she curls in further against him. He's wished so many times for a moment like this, just the two of them. He just wishes it wasn't because she felt like her entire life was crashing down all around her.

"I'm twenty-six."

His brows furrow as he dips his head to look at her. "What?"

"I'm twenty-six," she repeats. "My dad...he said I was born in 1988. July 2nd, 1988. I'm twenty-six."

"Oh. Well, happy belated birthday, then."

She huffs out a laugh. "Yeah."

"Now we know when to celebrate next year, though."

"I guess."

"So how are you really feeling with all of this?" he asks her.

She lets out a shaky breath. "I honestly don't know. It's a lot to deal with."

"Well, you know you've got me to lean on," he reminds her. "I told you that if you're staying here then I'm staying here. And I meant it. They may be your parents, but you hardly know them. You shouldn't have to go through this without someone to lean on."

"I know," she tells him, her voice slowing. "Could we...can we talk later?" she asks, a yawn escaping past her lips.

He nods. "Yeah, sure. Do you want me to carry you back to your room?"

She shakes her head against him, shifting to get more comfortable. "No. I'm fine here."

"Okay." He drops a kiss to the top of her head before carefully shifting himself on the bed so he's lying with his head on his pillow, Skye settled perfectly by his side.

 _This is how it should be_ , he can't help but think, listening to Skye's breathing as it evens out and her body relaxes with sleep.

With the woman he loves sleeping soundly next to him, it doesn't take long for him to fall asleep himself, more relaxed than he's been in a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! We're getting closer to the end now. Thanks for sticking around as long as you have. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Meeting Skye's parents, knowing they were her actual parents, was a little daunting, to say the least. He's been in the middle of more gun and fistfights than he can count and never once batted an eye. But meeting the parents of the woman he loves, when no one there actually knows that he loves her, set just about every nerve ending in his body on edge.

What exactly do you say to the two people who brought the woman you love into the world, but never got the chance to raise her and still don't know about their grandson? There's no guidebook for their situation. No manual or step-by-step instructions. There's no one he can really turn to for advice about all of this. He's flying blind and he doesn't know how to handle it all. But he's been doing his best not to make too much of a mess of things.

It's only been a couple of days since Skye had dinner with her parents, since she came to him and asked him to just hold her while she slept. It was one of the best nights of sleep he's had in a long time. Despite being in a place that sets off nearly all of his nerve endings, he still slept a lot better than he has in the past. Hands down. No doubt about it.

Of course, none of that does his nerves any good while he's going to be stuck waiting around at Afterlife while Skye's off with her dad on his trip home. She said she was just going with him to keep him company while he got more of his things, figuring it might be nice to see where she could have grown up had things worked out differently. But the whole thing doesn't sit well with him. Nothing has sat well with him since they arrived. All he wants is to go home and see his son. He hasn't seen Adian in what feels like a very long time, and he just wants to be able to hold his boy again.

"You look so on edge."

Glancing up from where he'd been staring at the cement below him, finding Lincoln standing not too far away. "I'm not on edge."

Lincoln cracks a smile and huffs out a laugh. "Sure, whatever you say, man. You worried about Skye?"

"No."

"Come on, man, I can see it all over your face whenever you're around her. You care about her."

"I don't have to tell you anything."

"You don't need to."

Grant sighs and sits back against the bench. "What are you doing over here?"

"I just came by to tell you that I'm going with them. I can keep an eye on Skye for you."

"Skye's perfectly capable of handling herself. Even before she got her powers."

Lincoln nods. "I'm aware of that. But Jiaying asked me to go along and keep an eye on things, make sure nothing happens."

He quirks a brow in the other Inhuman's direction at the statement. "Is she worried that something's going to happen while they're gone? Maybe I should go too for extra protection."

Lincoln shakes his head. "No, she's not too worried. It's just a precaution. People like us aren't usually taken too kindly to when out in the regular public if people are aware that we're there. It's just nice to have an extra set of eyes and ears in case something does go wrong."

He narrows his eyes at the man. He still doesn't trust him. Not completely, anyway. He knows that Skye's grown fond of him, in a certain sense, that she's put some amount of trust in him and that the two have some type of a friendship going on. But it doesn't mean he has to be friends with the man. If he trusts anything about the man, though, he trusts that he'll do what's necessary to keep Skye safe.

They share a few more words before Lincoln is walking away, off to do his duty and make sure that nothing goes horribly wrong on the trip. And now that's all his mind is conjuring up for him, all the ways that Skye's trip can go wrong. All the ways that she could be taken away from him and Adian. All the ways that would leave him a single father. That can't happen. He can't let it happen.

He clenches his fists tightly when he feels a familiar tingling in his fingertips. Now is definitely not the time to lose control. He's made a little headway in learning to control his abilities, knowing that they're tied, in a way, to his emotions. If he lets his emotions get out of control, then his powers will get out of control too. And that's the last thing that he wants.

.

.

.

It's all a bit of blur when Skye comes back to Afterlife after her trip. He's not quite sure how long she was gone, a few hours at least, he knows that. He'd been occupying his time by taking Max out to the fields and trying to control his abilities more, to really learn what they're capable of doing. He still hasn't been given a formal teacher, so if they're not going to give him someone to actually help him, then he's just going to have to learn on his own. It's not like he hasn't been on his own before. It's nothing new for him. He just wishes that someone with more experience could help guide him a little.

He's in one of the fields not too far from the central area of the village when he hears the distant shouting. He immediately goes over, finding Skye, Cal, and Gordon in the middle of the fray, the former two looking a little worse for wear and breathing heavily.

"Skye!"

She turns to him and then seconds later she's in his arms, hugging him tightly and burying her face in the fabric of his shirt. He hugs her back just as tightly, not wanting to let her go. He shouldn't have let her go alone. He should have gone with them. He should have been there for whatever happened.

Pulling away enough to look at her, he cups her cheeks in his hands, brushing some of her hair back out of her face. "Hey, hey, talk to me, Skye. What happened?"

She shakes her head and swallows. "I don't know. I called May, told her to take Cal because I knew he'd be upset when I left again, but we were ambushed at his old office. I don't—I don't know how the others found us, but they did. Lincoln was there, and Cal got really, really angry because he knew we were just going to leave him there. But then Hydra was there, and Coulson was too. Everything got so out of hand so fast. And I don't know what happened to Lincoln. Gordon got me and Cal out of there before I could find him. Everything fell apart. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do, Grant. Everything is such a mess right now."

His heart breaks at hearing how upset she is by the whole chain of events. He pulls her in again, cupping the back of her head and whispering what he hopes to be calming words in her ear. He hates seeing her so upset by what happened. He wishes he could fix everything for her, to make it right so she doesn't have to hurt anymore.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asks her quietly in her ear.

She nods against him. "I think so," she says back, her voice muffled by the fabric of his t-shirt. "I'm just so tired. And I just want to see Adian."

"I know, so do I. And we'll see him soon, okay? We won't be here for too much longer. We'll find Gordon and convince him to take us home, to take us to Adian. I don't care what your mom has to say. We're getting out of here."

She looks up at him. "Promise?"

He gives her the tiniest hint of a smile. "I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Got a new chapter for ya! I know I already updated this week, but I felt like updating again.
> 
> Enjoy!

They find Lincoln. He's in pretty bad shape when they do, having been one of Hydra's latest experiments. Raina had somehow managed to convince Gordon to take him and Skye back to SHIELD so that they could find and save Lincoln since no one else was able to. He wasn't entirely stoked about the mission, still not being the biggest fan of the other Inhuman. But it was important to Skye, so it was important to Grant.

The only real casualty in the whole thing was the Bus. For a while, they thought they were in the clear, but of course, things went wrong and Hydra shot them out of the sky. Well, they would have if they hadn't escaped on a quinjet. That'd been a close call. Way too close for his liking.

Getting into the building hadn't exactly been a picnic either, having to fight their way through Hydra agents in order to simply locate Lincoln. He was groggy when they eventually found him, no surprise there, and Skye was immediately at his side, trying her best to reassure him that he was going to be okay. He couldn't help the smirk he got when he saw her going into full-mom mode with the other man. Despite only being a mom for less than a year and their son not having gotten himself into any real danger yet, she already has the worried mom thing down to a tee. Though, he's sure Skye would say the same thing about him being a dad.

He stood guard while she took care of Lincoln, making sure that his injuries weren't too severe and that he'd be okay to travel.

They weren't severe, thankfully. They were able to get him out and on the quinjet back to SHIELD's base of operations. They got him set up in the med bay as soon as they arrived, other doctors hovering around him to make sure that he is really doing fine.

And now he waits right outside the room while Skye oversees Lincoln's medical set up. He knows that she cares about the other man, in whatever way that is, but it doesn't mean that he has to like it. Skye's always been a caring person, so it's natural that she'd care about this man that she's been getting to know.

"How is he?" he asks when Skye finally exits the med bay after spending quite a bit of time in there checking over Lincoln.

She lets out a sigh. "He's fine, relatively speaking. The doctor checked him out and said he'll pull through, though."

"That's good."

"Yeah. And hey, I wanted to thank you."

His brows furrow together. "For what?"

"For coming with me to find him."

He shrugs like it's no big deal. "Raina said she had a vision of the both of us rescuing him."

"I know. And you could have refused to come with me. But you didn't, and I really appreciate that. Lincoln is...he's been a good friend to me since we met. He's also an important part of Afterlife. I would have felt terrible if something had happened to him."

"Technically, something did happen to him," he points out with what he hopes to be a teasing glint in his eyes.

She rolls her eyes at him and he smiles. "Yes, I know. But it could have been way worse than it was. I know you're not his biggest fan, so you were probably very conflicted on whether or not to help him."

"It's not that I don't like him," he defends himself, shifting on his feet. "I just...don't entirely trust him. Like most of the people at Afterlife. I don't know why exactly, I just get this really weird feeling when we're there. Almost like the other shoe is going to drop, but no one knows when."

She gives him a soft smile. "That's probably just the years of caution and paranoia rearing its ugly head again because you were in an unfamiliar place."

He sighs. "Yeah, probably." Things are quiet for a moment before he looks back up at Skye. "Oh, hey, I meant to tell you, I was texting Rose earlier on the ride back, and she said that Adian's awake if we want to FaceTime with him."

Skye's entire demeanor shifts, a wide grin spreading all the way up to her eyes. "Yes, please. I miss my baby."

He smiles. "Do you want to go to one of our rooms so we have more privacy to talk to him?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

They end up in Skye's room, both of them settled comfortably on the bed with her laptop open in front of them. The video call is ringing, taking its sweet time to connect to his sister. He's a little antsy, to say the least. All he wants is to see his son, in person, to hold him and hug him and remind him over and over how much he loves him.

Seconds later, his heart constricts in the best way possible when he finally sees his son's face for the first time in what feels like forever.

"Hey, bud."

"Hi, baby," Skye says, leaning toward the screen and he can see the glimmer of tears in her eyes. He's glad to know it's not just him that's getting emotional at seeing their boy again.

"Dada!" Adian shouts at the screen. "Mama!"

Skye sucks in a sharp breath. "Did he just…?"

Rose nods. "Yeah. I've been showing him pictures of you guys every day, and just the other day he pointed at your picture, Skye, and said 'mama'. I wish you could have seen it."

"Me too. Is he doing okay, though?" she asks as Adian gets distracted by something off-screen. "He hasn't been causing too much trouble, has he?"

Rose shakes her head. "He's been an angel, really. Aside from the constant teething and not wanting to eat."

Both he and Skye frown deeply.

"He hasn't been eating?" Skye asks, her deep motherly concern taking over. He can't say he blames her.

Rose shakes her head. "No, he has. Just probably not as much as he usually does. I think he just misses you guys and knows that I'm not 'mom' or 'dad' so he refuses to eat at first before realizing how hungry he actually is."

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that," Skye says with a frown.

Rose waves her off. "It's fine. It's really not that big of a deal."

"If you're sure…"

"I am. Adian can stay here for however long you guys need him to. Matt's enjoyed having another kid in the house, even if Adian's just a baby. He's been helping me take care of him, which is very sweet. I'm really hoping he doesn't start asking for a sibling, though. Owen and I both agreed on just having one kid. I will not go through all of that again."

"I do not blame you," Skye says with a small laugh. "Giving birth is one of the worst things I've ever been through, and I've been shot before. I don't think I ever want to go through either of those again."

His heart honestly breaks a little at hearing her statement, but he tries not to let it show on his face. It's not that he was expecting it, but if all of his kids turned out as amazing as Adian is, he was kind of hoping to have at least one more. With Skye as their mother.

He's never let himself dream about having children before, but now that he has one, with the woman he loves, he wants more. He'd be fine with just one more, maybe a little girl that is the spitting image of her mom. That's what he really wants. He just doesn't know if Skye wants that. At least, with him. Maybe she does want that, just with somebody else that isn't him.

"We should probably go now," Rose says, pulling him out of his thoughts. "I want to keep talking to you guys, and I know Adian loves seeing you, but we have some plans that we need to get going to if we don't want to be late."

"I guess so," Skye says with a heavy sigh. "I just miss my baby."

"He misses you guys too. I hope you finish whatever you're doing soon. For his sake."

"So do we, Rose," he tells his sister honestly.

They exchange another round of goodbyes before the video call ends, leaving them sitting in complete silence. It's definitely been hard, being away from their son. But they both knew they wanted him to be as far away as possible from whatever they were dealing with. They didn't want him caught in the crossfire. And they managed to do that. For now at least. They don't know how much longer it's going to take for them to deal with whatever is going on.

"I should probably get some rest," Skye speaks up quietly, but loud enough to grab Grant's attention.

He shifts on the bed, setting the tablet aside and then standing. "Right. I'll uh, I'll see you around, then?"

She nods. "Yeah."

He gives her a tight-lipped smile before making his way out of her room and then two doors down to his own. He can't ignore the sinking in his gut that he's had since they first set foot in Afterlife. Even though they aren't there anymore, that sinking feeling is still there. He just hopes that it's wrong, that it's something else entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter! I'm gonna try to update this story more often than I have been because we're getting close to the end and I can't wait for you all to read the last few chapters. Also because I have a bunch of other little one-shots planned out for this universe that I want to start posting. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

They should have stayed away. They should have stayed at the SHIELD base. They never should have come back to Afterlife. That's all he can think about as he watches everything start to fall apart around him. Not literally. Not yet, at least.

Everything had been fine up until now. Relatively speaking, that is. That strong sinking feeling never once left his gut the entire time they were on their way back. He didn't want to go back. But he didn't want Skye to go alone, either. Well, she wasn't really alone, since Lincoln was going to be with her the whole time. But he knew he'd feel ten times better if he was able to be there with Skye to help protect her. Even though she doesn't need much of his help protecting herself anymore, it helps put his mind at ease if he can be there. He'd had a long, much-needed conversation with Lisa after they had gotten back to the Playground. It was such a relief and weight off his shoulders to be able to finally talk to the woman again. She agreed that he needed to do whatever would be best, as long as he was careful and didn't do anything too drastic.

Skye and Lincoln had been chosen to essentially be liaisons from SHIELD, to set up a meeting between the leaders of the two groups. He easily managed to get himself in on it as well, convincing them that an extra set of eyes never hurts. It didn't take much convincing, thank goodness. Skye was on board with it immediately. He couldn't help but smile at that when it happened. Their relationship has definitely improved from what it was just a few months ago.

But now he's afraid that it's all going to be for nothing if he can't make sure that she's able to see their son at the end of all this. As much as he wants to see his son and hold him again, if he ever had to make a choice, he'd make sure that Skye was the one who got to see Adian at the end of everything. There's no doubt in his mind about it. No doubt at all.

He's in the middle of helping get people to safety, always trying to keep Skye in his line of sight, when the missiles start firing from one of the quinjets flying above them.

His brow furrow together tightly as he stares up at the aircraft. "What the...?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Skye go down along with Jiaying and Lincoln. He doesn't hesitate in rushing to them, mainly to Skye, needing to know that she's okay. Needing to know that she's not injured too badly.

"Skye." He kneels down beside her, wrapping his arms around her as he helps her stand again before checking her over to make sure she's really okay.

"Why would you let them do this to us?" Jiaying questions as she stands, her eyes fixed solely on Skye, one hand still clutching her wounded shoulder from where she'd claimed Gonzales had shot her. "I thought you were on our side."

"I am," Skye insists. "I-I had no idea, I swear. Grant and I didn't know this was going to happen."

"I have a really bad feeling about all of this," he speaks quietly to Skye as Jiaying is led away by Lincoln and another Inhuman whose name he can't remember.

"Why is SHIELD shooting at us, Grant?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. But none of this is sitting right with me."

"Skye! Ward!"

They both turn at their names, seeing May approaching them, that familiar hard look on her face that she's known for having in the heat of battle.

"May, what's going on?" Skye asks, taking a few steps closer to the other agent. He wants to intervene, the sinking in his gut only growing as he watches and listens to everything around him unfold. This isn't right. This shouldn't be happening. But of course, nothing in his life ever seems to go right. Except for his son.

His heart sinks when he comes back to reality, only to find May knocked out on the concrete and Skye standing near her, panting heavily. How did he miss that?

"Skye."

She whirls on him, the starting of a hard look on her face that he doesn't like seeing. "What happened, Grant? Why did SHIELD do this?"

"They couldn't have," he says to her. "Why would Coulson knowingly attack this place when he knows that your mom is here? That this is part of your history? That he'd be risking keeping us from our son?"

She shakes her head. "I don't know."

"We need to get out of here, Skye, we need to leave."

"What? Why would we leave? We need to stay and fight."

"This isn't our fight, Skye," he tries to convince her. "We  _barely_ got our powers, we don't know that much about this world that we're now suddenly a part of. I know she's your mom, but how well do you really know Jiaying? She has a vendetta for SHIELD, I know that much, and I don't want you to be caught in the middle of whatever's going on."

"I have to do this, Grant," she tells him. "My mom...she's...she's my mom, Grant."

"I know that. But you're a mom now, too, Skye," he tries a different tactic. Some might consider it a low blow, bringing their son into things, but he needs her to understand. He takes a small step closer to her. "You can't just go around fighting battles that you don't even know if you're going to win, or don't know what you're really fighting for. I don't...I don't think there's much we can do right now."

She shakes her head. "You're wrong. There has to be something, okay? There's got to be a way to stop SHIELD from attacking us. We don't want to hurt anyone. We all just want to live in peace."

She storms off before he can get another word out. The heat dances at his fingertips, itching to break out. Thankfully for him, his body doesn't react the way Skye's does when she holds in her abilities. He doesn't get bruises up and down his arms, but he does sometimes feel an overwhelming heat coursing through his veins. Nothing too bothersome, but it's there, just waiting to be released.

He quickly moves in front of one of the brick walls nearby, something he knows he won't cause too much damage to, and aims his hands directly at them. He closes his eyes and breathes in deeply before letting himself relax and letting the energy be released. There are only a few scorch marks on the bricks, but he definitely feels better. A lot better.

.

.

.

All she can think about as she rushes back through the foliage is how wrong everything turned out to be. It shouldn't have happened this way and she doesn't know what to think about it. All she wanted was to know her mother, to find out more about who she is and where she comes from. But she got way more than she bargained for.

It doesn't take long for her to find Grant and she's instantly in his arms without a single word. She knows he won't care, he'll comfort her for as long as she needs and then ask her about what happened. He's getting predictable. But sometimes the predictability from him is nice, knowing that he's always going to be there for her whenever she needs him. That's more than she can say for some of the people she's tried to rely on in the past. This is definitely way better than any of those times.

"Hey, you okay? What happened?"

Just like clockwork.

She sniffles a few more times, wiping at her eyes with her palms before carefully extracting herself from his arms. She laughs quietly, trying to ignore the truth for a little bit longer. "I swear I didn't cry this much until I got pregnant."

"Skye, what's going on? Why are you crying?"

She looks up to see the pure concern in his eyes, those eyes that first got her hooked on him what feels like a lifetime ago.

"It's my mom."

"What about her?"

"I saw...I saw her kill Raina. In cold blood. She just...she killed her."

"Are you doing okay? That couldn't have been easy to see."

She shakes her head. "It wasn't. I don't know what to do, Grant. She's my mom, but she killed someone. So easily too. Like it was nothing new for her."

She sinks into his arms again when he wraps them around her, pulling her close and resting his head on top of hers. She breathes him in deeply, reveling in having him so close and just to herself. She never thought she'd like being in his arms again. But he makes her feel safe. He always has.

"I don't know what to do," she mutters against the fabric of his shirt.

"I don't think there's anything we can do," he tells her. "As much as it might suck to hear it, I don't think we can stop whatever's happening. At least, not by force. It could just make things worse if we do. We need to think this through, okay? We can't just jump in without having some type of plan first."

She nods. "Okay. I think I can do that."

She closes her eyes as he continues to hold her, forcing herself to forget about all of the bad things for just a moment. Forces herself to forget about all the pain and anger and to just think about the things she has to live for, all the good things in her life. It's more good than she's ever had, and she doesn't want to lose it. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new one for ya! Everything comes to a head in this chapter. We're getting so close to the end now. I can't wait for you guys to read these last few chapters. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Bursting through the door onto the main deck of the Illiad, Skye pants heavily as she sees her mom leading two men carrying a large black case toward a quinjet waiting at the other end. She'd tried. She'd tried so hard to stop them from getting to this point. She tried everything she could think of. And this is her last chance, her last opportunity. If she can't change her mom's mind now, after everything, then there's nothing else that she can do. She'll have to give up and let what happens happen. But not yet. Not until she tries one more time.

"Mom! Stop! You can't do this!"

"No," Jiaying says to the men with her when they drop the case. "Put them on the jet and get ready for takeoff."

"I can't let you leave with those crystals," she tells her mom, wishing deep in her heart that things hadn't gone this way. She never wanted to have to do this. But she stands her ground.

"You can, and you should. It's the only way to protect our people."

She shakes her head, swallowing. "It's not. There are other ways."

"Whose ways? SHIELD? No, their way is what got us here."

" _You_ started this war," Skye shoots back.

"This war started decades ago when SHIELD was founded to guard the world against people like us. And it will never end." Jiaying steps closer as she speaks. "But you and I together—think of how powerful we could be. We could launch a revolution...side by side."

Skye shakes her head and takes a small step back. "I don't want your revolution, because this isn't about protecting me or your people. This is about hate."

"No, you're wrong."

"It's consumed you. You can't even tell right from wrong. But this doesn't have to be how things are," Skye insists, hoping with everything inside of her that she'll get through. "You don't have to keep doing this, okay? Prove them wrong, choose to be better than the monster that they think you are. SHIELD isn't like what it used to be, not the one that I know."

"SHIELD will always be how it was. Nothing can change that."

"Now you're the one who's wrong. SHIELD became my family when I didn't have one. Despite the circumstances, they gave me the greatest gift that I never thought I would have." She can't help the watery smile she gets at the thought of her son; of his smile, his laugh, his spirit, the way he says 'mama', the way he cuddles with her as he nurses or after a nap. She takes a few steps closer to her mother. "And I wanted you to be a part of it, you and my dad, but not like this. Not if this how you're going to be."

"A part of what?"

She takes a deep breath. "Of my son's life."

That makes her mother pause, something about it obviously having affected her. She just hopes it's for the better end of things. "You...you have a son?"

She nods, her smile growing just a little bit bigger. "Yeah, I do. His name is Adian. He's not even a year old yet."

Jiaying looks her up and down before landing on her eyes. "You don't…"

"I don't look like I had a baby just a few months ago?" She lets out a small laugh. "Yeah, I know. I got pretty lucky." She steps closer to her mom. "Please, don't do this, mom. Think about your grandson, what kind of world you're making for him to grow up in by doing this. You and dad weren't able to be there for me when I was growing up, but you can be there for your grandson. You can have a second chance." She grabs onto her hands and holds tightly, looking directly into her eyes, hoping with everything she has that her message is getting through. "If you don't want to be seen as the bad guy anymore, then start changing how you do things. Stop acting like a bad guy and you won't be treated as one anymore."

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"Trust me when I say that it is. I know from personal experience."

Jiaying's brows furrow together. "You?"

She shakes her head. "Not really. But someone very close to me. It's possible to change, mom, to start fresh. Just please, don't do this."

For a moment, she fears that all of her pleadings fell on deaf ears, that nothing is going to change and she's going to lose her parents just as fast as she got them. But then something shifts. She's not exactly sure what it is, but something shifts.

"You really believe that things can change?" her mother asks her softly. She hears the door next to them opening, someone's footsteps quickly approaching. But she never takes her eyes off of her mother.

She nods. "I really do." She chances a glance to the side to find her dad standing a few feet away, a curious look on his face as he watches them. She holds one of her hands out to him, an invitation for him to come closer and join them. He does and she holds tightly to his hand while still holding onto one of her mom's hands.

"There doesn't have to be any more hatred or vengeance," Skye tells the both of them. "I want you both to be a part of my life, to be a part of Adian's life. But not if you're going to keep doing what you have been. And I want you both to at least talk to someone about all of this anger and hatred you've had festering for so long."

"I think we can manage that."

"Adian?" her dad speaks up. "Who's Adian?"

She gives her dad a small smile. "Adian is my son, your grandson."

"I'm a...I'm a grandpa?"

She laughs at the pure look of joy and elation on his face at hearing the news. "Yeah, you're a grandpa."

"Can I meet him?"

"Not yet," she tells him. "Grant and I have to go pick him up first. He's been staying with Grant's sister while we've been dealing with all of this. But I promise to bring him to meet you guys. I grew up without any parents or family whatsoever. But my son is growing up with both of his parents raising him, as well as two sets of grandparents to dote on him. It's better than I ever could have hoped for."

After talking with her parents, they all go back inside the Illiad and quickly find the others, Grant and Coulson among them. She gives Grant a small nod when they lock eyes, letting him know that she's okay, that things will be fine.

Thankfully, after speaking with Coulson, he agrees to let the past remain in the past, to move forward and start forging a better relationship with the Inhumans and other powered individuals. He even offers to have a small group of agents help with the cleanup and rebuilding of Afterlife.

"When could you get this group of agents together?" Jiaying asks as she stands with a good amount of space between her and Coulson. It is going to take a lot more than one conversation for things to get to a good place, after all.

"I can have them ready as soon as possible," he replies, a polite smile on his face.

"While I'm happy with how things are going," she speaks up, taking a small step forward. "Grant and I would really like to go see our son now. Mom, do you think Gordon could—"

"Absolutely. You go see that baby of yours, tell him that his grandmother can't wait to meet him."

They share a quick smile and then Gordon's wrapping his arms around hers and Grant's shoulder, transporting them in a flash. He doesn't take them to Rose's house, since he doesn't know where it is, but he takes them to a place where they'll be able to get transportation.

There's not a single ounce of hesitation in her body as she makes her way up the front porch of Rose's house once they arrive, her knuckles making contact with the door as soon as she reaches it. She can feel Grant beside her, reaches out to take his hand for comfort and support. She doesn't know why she's so nervous, she's just coming to see her son again.

But maybe it's the fact that her son is still so young, that there's a possibility he might not recognize them when he sees them in person. Even though everything in her mind is telling her that they're all going to be just fine.

"You're back."

"Hey, Rosie."

Skye's pulled out of her head and smiles at the other woman. "Rose, hey. Where's Adian?"

"He's taking a nap right now. He should be waking up soon, though. Come on in."

They step inside the house, immediately being greeted by Rose's husband and son, and then they're waiting.

She wants so badly to just go wake her son up so she can be with him, but she knows it's better if she lets him sleep. But of course, it doesn't stop her from asking Rose everything that she can about her boy, needing to know for sure that he was okay while she was away.

"Skye, I promise you that he was perfectly fine the entire time," Rose tells her as they stand in the kitchen together drinking tea. She'd much rather have coffee, but she doesn't need her nerves amped up any more than they already are. "He missed you and Grant and it came through in some of his behavior, but he's still young. He won't remember that you two were gone once he's older."

She sighs. "I know. I just...Grant and I both went through a lot in the last couple of weeks, so it's been tough being away from Adian."

Rose gives her a sympathetic smile. "I know it has. And I don't envy your position at all. I'm sorry you both had to be away from him. Why exactly were you away, if you don't mind my asking?"

Skye breathes in deeply and lets out a heavy sigh. "It's...a lot. You already know how Grant and I aren't fully human so we both have these supernatural abilities that we're still trying to get the hang of. We found that there's a place for people like us to be without fear of the rest of the world. That's where we've been, learning about our abilities. But, of course, as with everything, it started falling apart. I was worried for a minute that we wouldn't make it out, but thankfully, I was able to talk some sense into my mom."

"Wait, your mom? You found your mom?"

She nods. "And my dad. It was pretty crazy, believe me. They've both made their fair share of mistakes, but they want to be better. For Adian, mainly. You should have seen the look on my dad's face when I told him that he's a grandpa. It was priceless. I think he's really excited about having a second chance since he missed out on my entire life."

"Well, I'm glad that you've found them. It seems like everything is working out for you."

Skye smiles. "Yeah. There's a small part of me that's waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I'm doing my best to just live in the moment and appreciate what I have right now."

"Speaking of what you have," Rose remarks as the baby monitor next to her comes to life with quiet babbling, "I think that your son is awake now."

Skye perks up at that, standing a little taller and her eyes instantly watering. "Which room is he in?"

"The same one you and Grant stayed in while you were here."

"Thanks."

She doesn't waste any more time, moving quickly through the house on her way to see her son. It feels like it's been forever, when it really hasn't, and she's only slightly worried that he won't recognize her, that he'll think she's some stranger.

She pushes open the door to the bedroom, her breath catching in her throat when she sees her son at the other end of the room, standing up in the playpen with one of his little hands gripping tightly to the railing while the other holds onto his stuffed monkey doll.

She steps into the room, wasting no time in moving to stand in front of her son. He bounces on his legs as she gets closer, continuing to babble nonsense as he watches her.

"Mama."

Hearing that word coming from him, in person, makes her emotional. She hasn't seen her baby in a while and he just called her 'mama', so she cries. Tears of happiness, of course.

She reaches inside and lifts him into her arms, cradling the back of his head as she holds him close. "Hi, baby," she says, the tears falling down her cheeks in streams, a smile on her face as he curls up against her, his monkey doll pressed tightly between their bodies. "Mama missed you so much, Adian. I promise I'm never going to leave you like that again, okay?"

"Rose told me you were in here."

She spins around and smiles at Grant through her tears. She laughs quietly when Adian perks up a little, mutters a quiet 'dada', and then drops his head back to her shoulder.

"Guess that's the best you're going to get for right now."

Grant shakes his head. "It's fine. I like seeing you two together, makes me think I actually did something right with my life."

Skye smiles at him and gently rubs at Adian's back. "This little guy is living proof that you did."

He steps closer to them and runs his hand over Adian's head, dropping a kiss to it with a smile. "Yeah, he is pretty great."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Our favorite little family is reunited. Yay. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day, babes! Because it's a day to celebrate love, and I love you all for reading my stories, I decided to post a new chapter for you.
> 
> This one, as well as the next few chapters, are mostly just going to be Grant and Skye settling back into life as parents, since all the craziness is done and over with.
> 
> Enjoy!

Stepping down out of the quinjet, Skye hikes Adian up a little higher on her hip and breathes in deeply. She carefully pulls her hair out of his small, yet strong hand as she casts a glance over her shoulder to make sure that Grant is following behind her with the diaper bag.

Satisfied, she flashes him a quick smile before continuing on her path toward Afterlife. It's only been a few days since everything happened and she wanted to give the crew some time to fix up Afterlife a little before bringing her son by to see it. So they stayed with Rose while they reacquainted themselves with taking care of their son. She desperately wanted to spend some one-on-one time with her baby before introducing him to his blood-related grandparents. And she's about to do just that.

"You good?"

She looks up at Grant and nods her head. "Yeah. Just a little nervous, I guess. I haven't known my parents for very long and here I am about to introduce them to my son. It's a little weird."

"I imagine it's probably weird for them too," he tells her, smiling at Adian when the boy smiles at him followed by quiet babbling. He reaches out to run a hand over his son's head. "The last time they were actually your parents you probably weren't much older than Adian is."

"I know. We should probably get this over with then, huh?"

"Probably."

She takes another deep breath as she focuses on the path ahead of her, holding tightly to her son for support and comfort.

She flashes a quick smile at some of the people she passes, both SHIELD agents and Inhumans alike. She knows it's going to be a long and difficult road, but she's really looking forward to the day when there's no more hatred or biases between the two groups. When they can all get along and work together without any animosity. It could take a while, though. Only time will tell.

Stepping into the main courtyard of Afterlife, Skye takes a minute to admire the work that's been done over the last few days. Damage to various buildings is being fixed, parts of pathways are being repaved, new foliage is being planted. Everything is going just how she'd hoped it would. And it's progressing a lot faster than she initially thought that it would. Which she is pleasantly surprised by.

"Skye."

Turning in the direction of the voice, she smiles when she sees her mom approaching, her dad not far behind. They both have eager smiles on their faces.

"It's so good to see you again, sweetheart," Jiaying says as she pulls her into a hug.

"It's good to see you again, too, mom." She looks past her mom and smiles. "Hey, dad."

"Hi. I take it this is the grandson you told us about?" Cal asks, gesturing to Adian once Skye and her mom are no longer hugging each other.

Skye beams proudly. "Yes. This is Adian Leo." She adjusts her hold on her son, shifting him so her parents can see him a little better. "Adian, these are your grandparents."

"Oh, he's so beautiful, Skye," her mom says. "How old is he?"

"Almost seven months. Just a few more months to go until his first birthday. It's crazy how fast it's gone by. I think most of that has to do with everything else we've had to deal with, but it's still crazy to think it's been almost a year since he was born. Everything has been such a rollercoaster from day one."

"I remember so clearly the day you were born," Jiaying states, a sad smile growing on her lips as she no doubt thinks about everything that's happened since then. "It's hard to believe it's been so long since I held you in my arms for the first time. So much time has passed, so much that your father and I missed out on; you're a grown woman with a family of your own now. We've already lost so much time with you."

"But we've still got plenty of time left," Skye reminds her mom. "And I meant what I said about starting over. You can do that, in a way, with Adian. He's still young, still has so many moments for you guys to be a part of. If you want to."

"Of course we do."

"Good. But you guys have to promise me that you're going to do better, okay?"

Her mom nods with a small smile. "We will. Could I...could I hold him?"

"Of course." She shifts Adian again, moving to transfer him to Jiaying. She easily settles him in his grandmother's arms, waiting with bated breath for something to go wrong. She's not entirely sure how this is all going to turn out, she just doesn't want it to be awful.

Adian babbles softly to himself as he tilts his head, examining Jiaying carefully. He reaches a small hand up to gently touch the scars on her face and Skye sucks in a sharp breath. She may not have known her mother for very long, but she has a feeling that those scars are a very sore subject for the older woman.

But all Jiaying does is smile. She smiles and runs a hand of her own down Adian's cheek, making the little boy smile and shriek happily. Jiaying laughs quietly as she hugs Adian close, pressing a small kiss to the top of his head.

"He's such a happy boy," she remarks, looking up at Skye with a smile.

She smiles at her son, running one hand down over the top of his head. "Yeah, he is. We got pretty lucky with him. I'm just dreading the days when he's older and starts rebelling."

"Seeing as he's your son, that's a particularly high chance," Grant speaks up, stepping up beside her with a teasing smile.

She rolls her eyes. "Very funny. If he does start rebelling, though, you get to deal with him."

"Or we could have May discipline him," he suggests. "I'm sure she would be more than happy to teach her grandson a few things."

"And honestly, he'll probably listen to her over us. He already calms down easier for her than he does with us. I don't know what it is about her."

"She's just that good."

"Who is this that you're speaking of?" Jiaying asks, pulling their attention back to her.

"Oh, it's uh, she's a...friend of ours," Skye explains. "She's part of our team back at SHIELD. She uh, she was kind of like a mom to me after we met, though we never explicitly said that. Not that long after Adian was born, I asked her if she wanted to be his honorary grandmother, because I honestly thought I was never going to meet you. She agreed."

Jiaying nods. "I see."

"You're still his grandmother through and through," Skye quickly assures her mom. "Adian just has an extra set of grandparents to love him."

"An extra set?"

"Yeah. I haven't talked to him about it yet, but I'm pretty sure Coulson thinks of himself as Adian's grandfather even though he probably won't admit it because then that would make him old and he doesn't want that." She lets out a small laugh, her eyes drifting to her son happily sitting in his grandma's arms, fascinated by the pattern on her dress as he babbles to his monkey. "He's a pretty lucky boy to have so many people who love him. It's all I wanted for him. And he's got it."

.

.

.

Eventually, their time at Afterlife comes to an end once again. She's sad to be leaving her parents, but she knows she'll see them again. In the few days that they stayed there, she spent more time getting to know her parents, and vice versa, which is much easier to do when there isn't any kind of imminent disaster looming over them. They talked, mostly, sharing stories and learning more about each other. She learned about what she was like those first few months of her life, and she told them more about what things were like for growing up in the foster system, how she never stopped trying to find them.

Cal and Jiaying also spent time with their grandson during the stay, bonding with him and showing him all over Afterlife, introducing him to the people that were either milling about or rebuilding something. Adian took it all in with wide eyes, an ever-curious kid, something he no doubt gets from her.

As they leave, she gifts her parents with a cell phone, just something simple that they can use to make phone calls on. Of course, she promises them that on her next visit she's going to bring Afterlife into the modern age by giving them the best WiFi she can. Mainly so that they can FaceTime whenever possible so her parents can still see Adian from time to time, but also because it might be nice for the residents to have access to.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much," she says as she hugs both of her parents as tightly as possible. They're standing in the main courtyard, Grant holding both Adian and the diaper bag while she talks with her parents. They exchange heartfelt words and tight hugs for a while. She knows she needs to go but these are her parents.

She hopes that Adian feels like this about her and Grant when he's older. Then again, her feeling this way could simply be because she didn't have her parents around for the first twenty-six years of her life. But now she's got them.

"Mama."

Looking away from her parents, she flashes her son a smile when he sees her. He stretches his arms out to her, leaning forward in his father's arms.

"We should probably get going," Grant tells her, doing his best to reign Adian back in. He sighs. "Also, can you please take him before he falls?"

She laughs quietly at the sight before turning back to her parents. "I promise to come back and visit soon, okay?"

Her mom smiles brightly at her, her eyes glancing over to Adian before looking back at Skye. "I'm looking forward to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back with a new chapter for ya! Something happens in this chapter that I know a few of you have been waiting for. Though, I don't think it's going to happen quite you were hoping. Read on and see what I mean.
> 
> Enjoy!

Stretching his arms above his head as he turns around in the pilot seat, Grant smiles at the sight in one of the seats at the back of the quinjet. Skye's reclined back as well as she can be in one of the wall seats, Adian tucked carefully and securely under her chin, both of them sleeping soundly.

Sometimes he still can't believe how lucky he is to have them both in his life. It's pretty damn amazing.

Turning back around, he makes sure the plane is completely shut down before standing from his seat and moving into the back. He hits the button to open the bay door as he goes.

Approaching Skye, he carefully pulls Adian from her arms and holds him close, bouncing him a little when he starts to stir.

"You're okay, bud," he whispers in the baby's ear, continuing to bounce him and rub at his back to keep him calm. "Go back to sleep. Daddy's got you."

Glancing around the space, he finds the diaper bag sitting on the ground and lifts it onto his shoulder, securing his hold on his son.

Checking that Skye is still sleeping, he decides to leave her be for the time being while he gets Adian situated back on base. He bounces the boy gently, keeping him asleep as he turns and makes his way down out of the quinjet.

"Welcome back."

He gives the man in front of him a small smile. "Thanks, Trip. It feels good to be back."

"Where's Skye?"

"She's still on the quinjet. She and Adian fell asleep on the way back. Figured I'd let her keep sleeping for a little bit longer while I get Adian settled back in."

"Good idea. Do you need any help with anything?"

"Uh, no, thanks. I think I'm good for right now." He shares a quick smile with Trip before stepping past him, reaching into the diaper bag but then pausing. He spins on his heel. "Actually, could you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"I need to go change Adian, but I think I accidentally left his stuffed monkey back on the quinjet. Could you grab it for me and then bring it to his room?"

"Absolutely."

"Great, thanks."

Turning back toward the hangar doors, he passes through them and makes his way down the hallway in the direction of their bunks. He hikes Adian up a little higher, being careful not to jostle him awake. If his boy is sleeping on his own then he's not going to wake him up if he can help it.

As he goes, he smiles and nods at some of the agents he passes. Not everyone is okay with him being around, but every day, little by little, people are starting to come around.

"Grant, you're back."

"Hey, Fitz," he greets the engineer with a smile. "I'd hug you but I'm kind of occupied at the moment."

"Yeah, no problem. Where's Skye?"

"Still sleeping on the quinjet. She's been through a lot recently, figured I'd let her sleep while she can."

"Good plan. You had a good time with Skye's parents, though?"

"I know Skye did. And Adian loved having more people doting on him."

"You didn't enjoy your time?"

"I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, I just...I'm still wary, I guess. The larger part of me is saying that everything is fine, that Skye's parents aren't going to cause any more trouble."

"But?"

He sighs. "But the smaller part of me keeps thinking that something else is going to go wrong. I think I just need to talk to Lisa for a while again."

"Yeah, of course. You want me to take Adian for you?"

He shakes his head. "No, thanks. I need to change him and put him in his room before I call Lisa."

"Right, yeah. Smart call. I don't do...that," Fitz says with a quick gesture toward Adian's rear end. "I'll see you around, then."

Giving one last smile to his friend, Grant continues on his path to Adian's room, eager to change the baby's diaper before it gets too bad.

Thankfully, the mess in the diaper isn't terrible and he's able to change Adian quickly, his son staying asleep the entire time. He thanks whoever's listening for that one.

"Need help with anything?"

Glancing over his shoulder, he smiles at Skye standing in the doorway to the room, Adian's stuffed monkey held in one of her hands and Max jumping up at her by her feet. She smiles down at the puppy before looking back up at him.

"Hey. Sorry I didn't wake you when we got here," he says to her, carefully lifting Adian off the changing table and cradling him in his arms.

She shrugs. "It's fine. I needed a nap. I woke up when Trip was rummaging around the quinjet looking for this." She holds up the monkey before closing the space between them, dropping a kiss to their son's head. "He's still sleeping?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised too. Grateful, but surprised." He lets out a heavy yawn, his eyes closing in the process. He blinks a few times and shakes his head. "Wow. That came out of nowhere."

"You sure about that? You sure it's not because you're almost as worn out as I am from everything we've been dealing with recently?"

"I'm fine, Skye."

"Liar. You need sleep too, Grant."

He sighs. "I know. I just...I know we're safe here, but after everything…" he trails off, glancing down at Adian.

"I get it. I don't want to be away from him either."

"I was going to lie down with him for a few hours. You uh, you can join us, if you want to."

"Not sure I'll be able to go back to sleep."

He shrugs. "That's fine. You don't have to sleep. I just...I think I'll feel better knowing you two are close by and safe."

She flashes him a small smile and nods. "Okay."

He returns the smile before moving out of Adian's room and right next door to his own, Skye following close behind him with Max on their heels. He closes and locks the door once they're all inside, kicking off his shoes and passing Adian over to Skye while he finds his sweatpants. Relaxing in jeans is definitely not the most comfortable thing in the world.

After slipping into the comfy pants, he turns and smiles at the sight of Skye relaxing on his bed with Adian sleeping soundly in her lap, his stuffed monkey tucked against his side and his little lips parted as he breathes. It's a sight that he could definitely get used to.

Moving to the bed, he lies down on top of the covers, too warm to be under them despite the constant flow of cool air into the room. He figures it's a side effect of his new abilities, always being too warm. Reaching down, he grabs Max off the floor and settles the puppy right next to him on top of the covers.

"You okay?" he asks Skye, carefully watching her for any sign of post-traumatic stress from everything that they've been through. He's not one hundred percent sure he'd recognize the signs if she did have them, but he just wants things to be okay. For both of them. And for Adian.

She smiles down at him. "Yeah, I'm good. Now sleep. You need rest too."

He smiles back up at her, shifting on the bed a little to get more comfortable. Breathing in deeply, he lets it out slowly, allowing his body to relax, his eyelids slowly becoming heavier as he falls into a deep sleep.

.

.

.

Lowering Adian from her shoulder, Skye smiles down at him as she wipes some of the spit up off his chin with the burp cloth she'd found on Grant's nightstand. No surprise that he'd be prepared for something like that.

"Good thing your dad had a burp cloth in here," she whispers to Adian, glancing over at the man still sleeping next to her. "I don't think he'd like it if you got spit-up on his pillows. He probably wouldn't be mad, though. He'd just grumble about it and then clean it up. You're too cute to be mad at."

Setting the cloth aside, she runs a hand over the top of Adian's head, smiling when he starts babbling incoherently. She grabs his monkey and holds it up in front of him, laughing quietly when he immediately grabs onto it and shoves the head into his mouth.

"Now that you're fed, it's time for momma to get some food in her before she goes crazy."

Hiking Adian onto her hip as she stands from the bed, she makes sure to grab the burp cloth to throw into the laundry in the corner of the room so it can be cleaned, and then makes her way out of the room toward the kitchen.

She does her best to be as quiet as possible so she doesn't wake Grant earlier than he wants to be awake. He needs his sleep. She doesn't have concrete proof, but she's fairly certain that he hasn't slept much over the last few weeks. She knows he's been on edge a lot lately, they both have.

Max wakes up, though, the puppy's head lifting curiously when the bed shifts. She gestures with her head to the door as she moves toward it. Max reacts instantly, jumping down from the bed and following after her as she goes. She's so glad that Grant was able to train Max so quickly and so well. He's probably the most well-behaved puppy that she's ever seen.

Entering the kitchen, she instantly regrets not stopping by her own room first to get her wrap so she can carry Adian hands-free.

She lets out a sigh, glancing down at her son who's happily gumming on his toy. "Guess it's kind of a required skill as a mom to be able to do things one-handed, right?" She presses a quick kiss to his forehead before focusing on the task at hand; finding something for herself to eat.

And it's not that there aren't any options, because there definitely are, but nothing that they have sounds particularly good to her at the moment. She just wants to eat something.

"Skye? Is that you?"

Pulling out of the fridge, a surprised gasp escapes when she peers over the door to find none other than Jemma Simmons standing in the doorway to the lounge. Honestly, she kind of forgot the other woman existed, in a certain sense. She'd been so focused on other things, like her family and her new abilities, that she'd subconsciously pushed her problems with Jemma way into the back of her mind. But now she's standing in front of her, her brows furrowed together.

"Simmons. What are you doing here?" she asks, holding a hand out to Max when she hears him bark and growl lowly.

"I'm back."

"For good?"

Simmons nods. "That was the plan, yes. Are you doing well?"

Skye shrugs. "As well as I can be, all things considered."

"Right. I've heard whispers about what's been going on. Something about...Inhumans?"

Skye nods, her own brows furrowing as she tilts her head. "Yeah, it's kind of...new. We're all figuring out how to deal with it."

"What is it that you're learning to deal with, exactly?"

"Powers. Apparently, I'm part alien, kind of, so I have these new powers that I have to learn to live with."

"Oh. Is there any way to get rid of them?"

"Not that I'm aware of." She hikes Adian up a little higher when he starts reaching for items in the refrigerator door. "And even if there was, I'm not entirely sure that I'd want to get rid of them. I've kind of grown attached. That, and it connects me to my mom, in a way."

"Your mother?"

"Yeah. I found her. And my dad."

Simmons lets out a breath. "Well, I certainly seem to have missed a lot while I was away."

"More than you know," Grant's voice joins the room as he carefully brushes past Simmons seeing as she's blocking most of the doorway.

Skye can see the other woman visibly stiffen when she notices Grant, her eyes going wide and her fists clenching. "Ward. What are you doing here?"

"I came to find my son," he says nonchalantly, walking straight towards them.

"Dada!" Adian shrieks upon seeing Grant, instantly dropping his monkey and holding his arms out, leaning out of Skye's arms.

"Hey, bud," Grant says with a smile, lifting Adian into the air and blowing a raspberry on his stomach, making the boy laugh.

"Your son?" Simmons questions, her face paling. Her eyes drift between them before focusing on Skye. "Then that means you…"

"Kept my baby, yeah. Why are you so surprised?"

"Well, considering who its father is, surely I thought you might have—"

"Don't you even  _think_  about finishing that sentence." Her eyes are narrowed as she stares down the woman across the room. She steps a little closer to Grant and Adian, standing just in front of them so she's between them and Simmons. "I'd think very carefully about your words the next time you want to talk about my son. You may be back here working for SHIELD, and we may have been friends in the past, but my son is my number one priority." She's breathing heavy now, her hands clenched tightly into fists as smaller things around the room start to shake.

One of Grant's hands on her arm draws her attention to him, her eyes never leaving the floor as he whispers in her ear, "Relax, Skye. Breathe."

She closes her eyes and breathes in slowly and deeply, uncurling her fists and flexing her fingers. He's right. She can't lose control now. Not in a building with so many people. She'll have to find a place nearby where she can let go when the pressure inside becomes too much.

"You good?"

She nods, reaching up to run one hand up and down Adian's back to help ground her. "I'm good."

"Skye...are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she snaps, glaring up at the other woman. She sighs, running a hand over her forehead. "I think I just need to lie back down." She looks up at Grant. "Are you fine with Adian for a few hours?"

He nods. "Yeah, we'll be good. Might go see if Trip or Fitz want to hang out, have some guy time."

She smiles. "Sounds like fun. I'll see you later." She rises on her toes a little to press a kiss to Adian's cheek and then Grant's.

It's only when she's walking back to her room that the realization of what she did dawns on her. It's not like it really meant anything significant, right? It was just a...friendly kiss on the cheek, between two adults who are not in any kind of a relationship but raising a child together...wow. She really needs that nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Don't hate me! I did what I did. I figured that Jemma really hasn't had the time to process everything and see Grant in action as a dad so her opinion hasn't really changed. But maybe it will in time...
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Nothing super exciting in this one. But things are starting to wind down within the story, so have this fun little chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

Having someone like Jemma Simmons around, someone who is not afraid to voice her downright hatred toward him, is not easy. Thankfully, Lisa is always a phone call away if he needs to get something off his chest outside their scheduled meetings. He also has the gym where he can work out his frustrations or an open field not too far from the base where he can let loose with his powers every so often.

Of course, that's not to say that he's not trying to patch things over with Simmons. And by patching things over, he stays out of her way as much as he can. He'd rather not accidentally cause problems because she thinks he looks at her the wrong way or something equally as ridiculous.

Instead, he chooses to focus on spending his time watching his son grow up right before his eyes. It's crazy to him how quickly time moves where his son is concerned. It feels like just days ago he was feeling him kick for the first time or holding him on the day he was born. But it's also amazing to watch his son grow and explore the world around him. Even if they are confined to an underground secret base.

"What'd you find, bud?" he asks as he lowers himself to the carpeted flooring of the lounge, sitting directly across from his son. After Adian's nap, he decided to bring him and Max to the lounge to let him play for a bit since Skye was busy working on something for Coulson. "Did you find one of your toys?" He laughs quietly when Adian shakes the toy and squeals happily at the sound that it makes. "You're a pretty naturally happy kid, aren't you?"

"Ward."

Glancing over his shoulder, Grant gives a tight smile and curt nod to the man entering the room, holding Max back from going to him. "Coulson. How are you, sir?"

"Can't really complain too much. And you?"

Grant smiles. "Spending time with my son never qualifies as a bad time in my eyes, so I'd say I'm doing pretty well right now."

"Yes, I can see that. How is he doing?"

"Really good," Grant says, focusing back on his son. "Abby thinks he might be developing faster than normal. Not too quickly, obviously, but slightly above average."

"That's good to hear. And how are you and Skye doing?"

He lets out a breath. "We're managing. We're obviously new to this whole parenting thing, so we're doing the best that we can."

"As long as you do your best, I'm sure Adian will turn out to be a great man one day."

He smiles. "I like to think so. I just hope he turns out better than I did."

"You turned out alright, as far as I'm concerned."

He looks up at Coulson with furrowed brows, his mind racing a mile a minute. "What?"

Coulson sighs heavily, sinking down onto the couch cushion nearby. "I want to apologize, Ward, for my hand in what happened to you. I was wrong to treat you the way that I did."

"You were justified."

"In my anger, but not in my actions. I shouldn't have treated you the way that I did, denying you the help that you're getting now, despite how short your time down in Vault D may have been. I'm glad to see that you're doing well for yourself now; that you've become such a good man, despite the circumstances."

"I'm not that good of a man," he tells the older man with a small shake of his head.

"Yes, you are. And you're a good dad too, from what I've seen. Don't sell yourself short on that. There's a reason you're still walking around up here and being a part of your son's life. You wouldn't be here if you weren't a good man all along. Just hidden by past trauma."

Grant cracks a small smile. "That sounds like something Lisa said to me once. And thank you, Coulson, for the apology. I wasn't expecting to get one, not after everything I did, but it's appreciated."

He turns back to Adian when the boy shrieks again, finding him staring up at Coulson with wide eyes and a curious tilt to his head.

"Who do you see, bud? Do you see Papa?"

"Papa?"

Grant winces internally, looking back at the man. "Yeah, uh, sorry. Skye and I meant to talk to you. We were wondering if you'd want to be Adian's honorary Grandpa."

"You really mean that?" Coulson asks, a glimmer of something shining in his eyes.

Grant nods. "Yeah, we do. I know Skye always saw you as a father figure, and I don't have any doubts that she wanted you to be a close part of Adian's life from the minute she found out about him."

Coulson sighs. "I probably didn't make it easy for her when I reacted so poorly when she told me."

Grant shrugs. "It's in the past now. I think we're all over it at this point. All that matters is moving forward and focusing on the present."

Coulson cracks a smile. "Lisa really seems to be helping you."

"She definitely is. I've come to terms with a lot of things, thanks to her, and I'm learning to not blame myself so much when something goes wrong."

"That's good. And I'd be honored, you know, to be Adian's grandpa. How does Skye's dad feel about it?"

"Not too sure. He wants to be called Pop Pop, so there's that distinction. But I think he knows how much Skye has looked up to you the last couple of years, so hopefully, he'll be okay with it."

Coulson grows a pleased smile. "Then I'd be more than happy to be Adian's Papa." He smiles over at the boy, reaching out a hand when Adian crawls over to him. He helps the boy stand and laughs when he bounces excitedly before falling to his butt again.

Grant watches the two of them interacting, happy that his son has yet another person in his life to care about him and watch over him and love him. It's more than either he or Skye had growing up, so he's pretty pleased with how things are going. For all of them.

"What's going on in here?"

"Mama!" Adian shouts when he sees Skye, moving his arms quickly as he grins up at her, bouncing as he sits on the floor. "Mama!"

"Hi, baby," she says, walking around the couch to lift him into her arms and plant kisses all over his face. Adian giggles and squirms in her arms. "Mama missed you. Were you having fun with daddy?"

"We were having some well-earned guy time," Grant tells her with a small smile. "He's getting pretty quick at crawling. We might have to start looking into actually baby proofing this place pretty soon." He casts a quick glance at Coulson.

The other man's brows furrow for a brief moment before he nods. "I think that can be done. We'll see about putting baby locks on certain things, and baby gates on some of the open-plan rooms so he doesn't get anywhere he's not supposed to. I'll talk to the other agents, make sure they know to keep an eye out for little hands and feet when they're in the hallway, just in case."

"You seem pretty invested in this new project," Skye remarks as she bounces Adian on her hip, a smile on her face.

Coulson sits up a little straighter. "Well, as his Papa I've got to make sure he stays safe around here."

Skye shoots Grant a look and he simply shrugs and smiles sheepishly. "Sorry. I know you wanted to talk to him about it yourself but the name kind of slipped out when we were playing with Adian, so I went ahead and talked to him myself."

She sighs. "No, it's fine." She looks back at Coulson. "You're really okay with being his grandpa?"

"I'm more than okay with it. I never got the chance to have kids or grandkids of my own, I put my entire life into my work at SHIELD, so you and Adian are probably as close to the real thing as I'm ever going to get."

Skye smiles, dropping Adian into Coulson's lap and they both laugh when Adian immediately grabs hold of the end of Coulson's tie and shoves it into his mouth.

"I think he's pretty happy with it too," Skye remarks, moving around the couch to sit down.

Grant simply sits back and smiles, holding Max in his lap and watching as the other three people in the room interact with each other. Yeah, things are definitely looking up for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! There are only two chapters left after this, so I hope you're ready! I promise that all your patience will pay off in the end. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Breathing in deeply, Skye stretches her arms above her head as her body starts to wake up from the long nap she just took. It's rare these days for her to be able to actually find time to nap, always either taking care of Adian or working on something for Coulson. She's found that she can usually nap when Adian does, even if it's just for a few minutes before she has to do something for SHIELD. But this time, she's pretty sure that she slept longer than she'd intended to. She's definitely feeling well-rested, though, so maybe it's not such a bad thing.

Swinging her legs around so she's sitting up on the couch, her eyes go wide when she looks at the floor and doesn't see her son there. His blanket is still there from where he'd fallen asleep earlier, some of his toys lying around the edge of it, including his favorite monkey toy from his Uncle Fitz. But his actual little body is absolutely nowhere in sight.

Her mind starts racing a mile a minute at the possibilities of what could have happened to him, but she tries her hardest to push those thoughts away. That is the last thing that she should be thinking about right now.

Jumping up from the couch, she begins her search through the base, searching in every room and every storage closet she comes across. They haven't gotten all the baby gates up yet, so her son very well could have ended up just about anywhere, and she has no idea where that could be. And it's really starting to freak her out.

"Skye?"

Spinning on her heel, she lets out a half-relieved sigh when she sees Grant approaching her with Max at his side. He must have just gotten done with his latest session with Lisa. "Grant, hi."

"Hey, you okay? You look kind of frazzled."

She bites her lip between her teeth and looks up at him. "I can't find Adian."

His eyes go wide. "You lost him?"

She narrows her eyes at him. "No, I didn't lose him. We were both taking a nap and when I woke up, he was gone."

"Have you found him yet?"

"If I'd found him already don't you think I'd be holding him and not saying how I can't find him?"

"Right, sorry. Uh, do you have any idea where he might be?"

She shakes her head. "Not at all."

"Okay. Well, he couldn't have gotten too far, right? The agents around here know who he is and to either come looking for us when they see him or just hang onto him if they find him."

"But do they really?" she questions. "Because I'm pretty sure this is the first time our son has just disappeared so I don't think any of them are too used to a baby being loose around the base."

"Maybe not, but I'm sure none of them would do anything to hurt him."

"I can think of one who might," she says, her fists clenching ever so slightly and the hallway shaking for the briefest moment.

Grant frowns. "She may not like the idea of me being around or Adian existing, but I don't think she's heartless enough to harm a baby who's done absolutely nothing to her."

She sighs heavily, running a hand over her face. "Can we just try to find him, please? I'm going out of mind not knowing where he is."

"Yeah, of course. Should we split up, or...?"

She nods. "Yeah, that might work best, cover more ground. Text me if you find him and I'll do the same."

"Sounds good."

They search in opposite directions, moving quickly through the base, but taking the time to really search anywhere that their son could have disappeared into. She's not sure about Grant, but she isn't having any luck in finding her son. She's very nearly close to tears and she's checked just about every room that she's come across. But no luck.

Her mind starts to fear the worst when she sees movement out of the corner of her eyes, a flash of white that she immediately recognizes as a diaper moving across her peripheral.

"Oh, thank goodness." She lets out a relieved sigh when she spots her son rounding a corner a few feet ahead of her. She quickly catches up to him, snatching him up off the floor and holding him close. She peppers his face with kisses, the little boy squirming. "You scared me, baby. You can't just disappear like that or mommy and daddy might have a heart attack. And none of us want that because then you'd have to have Uncle Fitz and Uncle Trip taking care of you."

"Hey!"

She hadn't even realized she'd been anywhere near the lab, but she spins on her heels to find Fitz standing inside the lab, a frown on his face as he watches her. She smiles sheepishly as she moves inside the room. "Sorry, Fitz. Just joking. I didn't even realize where I was. I was just too focused on finding Adian."

His brows furrow. "You lost him?"

She huffs. "No, I didn't lose him. He just somehow managed to inherit Grant's super-spy skills and is also apparently a really fast crawler."

"Ah. Glad you found him."

"Me too. Honestly, I don't even want to think about what I would have done if I—"

"Fitz? Do you think that maybe you could—oh, hello."

Skye's breath catches and her hold on her son tightens. "Hi, Simmons. I'll see you later, Fitz. Say bye to Uncle Fitz, baby."

Adian babbles incoherently as she turns around and carries him back down toward the lounge.

"You found him. Where was he?"

Skye smiles up at Grant when she sees him, passing Adian up to him as she falls down onto the couch. "Just in the hallway by the lab. He's very fast."

She leans back on the couch, watching as Grant bounces Adian up and down as he talks softly to him. Her heart swells every time she sees it, or something very similar. She's been beginning to wonder recently why she ever thought that not telling Grant about Adian would have been a good idea. It's hard to imagine how things would have turned out had Grant actually not been around and still stuck down in Vault D, unable to see his son grow up. They're both definitely better off with him in their lives than out of them.

.

.

.

"Grant! He's walking!"

His head snaps up at the excited shout, looking over to the lounge from his place in the kitchenette, finding Skye hunched forward on the couch, watching their son attentively. "What?"

"He's walking!" she shouts at him again, her eyes never leaving Adian.

"He is?" He quickly stops what he's doing and moves to join her on the couch.

"Yeah. Or, at least, he's trying to."

He follows her line of sight to see Adian standing next to the coffee table, one hand clutching tightly to the edge as he sways a little on his feet.

Skye lets out a breath. "Wow. I didn't think he'd start walking this early."

"He's a smart kid, Skye. He started crawling earlier than we thought he would too. He has to have figured out by now that walking will get him around a lot easier and quicker than crawling will."

"I know. But it means that he's growing up and I don't think I want that."

He quirks a brow at her. "You don't want him growing up?"

"No, I don't want him to stop wanting to cuddle with me all the time. Eventually, he'll grow out of that and not want to be around us all the time."

"Hey, that's still quite a few years off. Let's just focus on right now, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good." He moves off the couch and grabs his Polaroid off the counter, making sure that it's loaded with a film sheet before kneeling down near where Adian is standing. "See if you can get him to go to you," he tells Skye as he looks through the viewfinder, focusing on Adian as best he can.

"Come on, baby," Skye says, sliding down off the edge of the couch to sit on the carpet, pulling her legs up underneath her. "Come on, Adian. Walk to mommy, I know you can do it."

Grant listens and watches through his viewfinder as Adian lifts one of his tiny feet up and down a few times, glancing between the carpet below him and his mom across from him. He takes a few shaky steps forward, still holding tightly to the edge of the table next to him.

Grant sucks in a sharp breath when Adian reaches the end of the table, his tiny hand letting go of the edge. He knows Skye's probably feeling what he is right now too. So many different emotions coursing through him, but mainly pride.

"Come on, baby," Skye urges again and that's what does it. Adian moves as quickly as he can on his still unsteady feet, stumbling across the carpet before falling into Skye's awaiting arms.

He manages to capture the moment right before Adian falls, his arms up high in the air, a wide smile on his lips. Skye's own arms are extended out toward their son, a beaming grin on her face as she watches him.

Pulling the camera down, he takes the sheet of paper that prints out and sets both items aside so he can join his family. He instantly scoops Adian into his arms, spinning the boy around before settling him on his hip and planting kisses to his face.

"You did it, bud. Daddy's so proud of you."

"Mommy's proud of you too," Skye says, joining him and resting one hand on Adian's back.

He smiles down at Skye before focusing back on Adian when he screeches and squirms, reaching down to the carpet.

"Oh, alright," Grant says, lowering Adian to the carpet, hanging onto his hands momentarily to allow the boy to find his balance. "Mr. Independent," he mutters when Adian starts toddling toward the edge of the couch, gripping tightly to it once he gets there.

He's only a little shocked when Skye leans into his side, one of her arms wrapping around his torso. He hesitates for a brief moment before wrapping his own arm around her.

"He's growing up."

"I know," he whispers, watching with a content smile on his face as his son babbles to himself as he tries to walk away, promptly falling to the carpet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Something...happens in this chapter. Something that I think many of you have been waiting for. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

When Adian's just over ten months old, they take a trip back to Afterlife so that Skye can fulfill her promise of setting the place up with state-of-the-art Wifi capabilities. Grant flies the quinjet, of course, while Skye spends time in the back with Adian, keeping the baby entertained and occupied during their long flight.

They'd spent a good amount of time back at base, working on reestablishing their good relations with the US government, hopefully allowing them all to no longer be fugitives of the law and live normal lives. Well, what resembles a normal life when you're an agent of a no-longer-secret government organization.

They'd kept in touch with Skye's parents too, like they said they would. They'd called them every few nights, allowing Adian to hear their voices before he went to bed, and sometimes in the morning after they all woke up. They hadn't told them about Adian's new skill of walking yet, though, wanting it to be a surprise for them when they see him again.

Soon enough, after a long flight, they reach the field where they usually land, just outside Afterlife, and then they're making the usual trek up to the village.

Grant carries Adian during most of the walk, not wanting him to find something gross on the ground and try to mess with it or put it in his mouth. Adian is definitely still in his curious phase. Max walks in front of them, Skye holding onto his leash so he doesn't get too far away from them.

Once they get close enough to the main square of Afterlife, Grant sets Adian's feet on the concrete, him and Skye each taking a hand to help him steady himself, and then guide him in the direction they need him to go.

"He's walking?" Jiaying questions as they get closer.

"Yeah, sorry we didn't tell you guys," Skye says. "We wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well, it's certainly a great surprise."

Grant lets go of Adian's hand and takes Max's leash from Skye, allowing her to kneel down behind their son, holding carefully onto his waist as she points in front of him.

"Look over there, baby. Can you walk to Pop Pop and Waípó?"

After he takes a few hesitant steps forward, he squeals excitedly and then moves as fast as he can across the pavement to his grandparents.

Cal and Jiaying move a little closer to lessen the space between them and Adian, crouching down and holding their arms out to him.

Adian grins happily as he moves across the pavement, his own little arms stretched out to his grandparents. He's babbling excitedly and incoherently as he goes.

Cal and Jiaying both praise Adian once he reaches them, happy smiles on their faces as they hug him and kiss the top of his head.

"You did so well, Adian," Jiaying says with a smile, running her hand down over the top of his head. "Pretty soon you'll be outrunning your parents and getting into all sorts of trouble."

"Oh please no," Skye remarks. "He already managed to escape after his nap once he started crawling. I nearly had a heart attack when I couldn't find him. But thankfully, he was just in the hallways, so he hadn't actually gotten into anywhere he wasn't supposed to be."

"Well that's good," Cal says, smiling at Adian.

Skye lets out a heavy sigh. "Yeah. I just can't believe he's going to be a year old soon."

"Neither can I," Grant pipes in. "Our little guy isn't going to be so little anymore eventually. Not sure how we feel about that."

"We wish we could help you out there," Cal tells them, a brief glimpse of sadness and regret flashing over both his and Jiaying's faces. "But, unfortunately, we didn't get to go through all of this like you two do. My best advice would be to just cherish the time you have with him while he's still young."

Grant smiles. "That's some pretty good advice, actually."

The rest of the day, while Skye's setting up the Wifi with her mom and explaining how different things work, Grant spends that time hanging out with Cal and Adian, getting to know the grandfather of his son a little bit better. They talk about whatever they can, a few moments of awkward silence between the two of them in the beginning. But they're able to get over it fairly quickly once Adian squeals or shrieks or shouts 'Dada' to get their attention. It still makes Grant's heart swell every time he hears it. He's been able to say it for a little while, but now Adian actually knows who 'dada' is every time he says it. At least, that's what he figures since Adian only seems to say it to his face or when he sees his picture or wants him. It's honestly the best part of his day, no matter how many times it happens within that day. It's probably his favorite part of being a dad.

.

.

.

Wringing her hands together, Skye approaches Grant slowly, breathing in deeply. She'd left Adian with her parents for a few hours after feeding and burping him, trusting the both of them to entertain him while she talks to Grant. Thankfully it doesn't take her too long to find him. He's standing out in one of the fields, flames engulfing his hands as he most likely experiments more with his abilities in order to figure out what he's truly capable of.

"Hey, Grant?"

He looks over his shoulder. "Hey. What's up?"

She shifts on her feet. "Could I talk to you for a minute? It's kind of important."

"Yeah, sure. Just give me a second." He sends out a quick blast from his hands and then extinguishes the flames, turning around so he's facing her completely. He takes a deep breath. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Us."

His brows furrow together tightly. "Us?"

She nods. "Us."

"'Us' is kind of a strong word, don't you think?" he asks her, and her mind flashes back to that one moment that feels so long ago now, the moment that led to their son being conceived.

She shrugs, despite the way her heart is racing inside of her chest. "Maybe. But I still want to talk. Spending so much time with you, raising Adian together, it got me thinking. About us. About the future. I don't...I didn't think I'd ever even have half of what I do. But I love my job, I love our son, and I think...I think I love you."

He quirks a brow at her. "You think you love me?"

"I'm still trying to sort everything out in my head," she tells him quickly. "But I love seeing you with Adian, you're such a great dad. And we were good together, however short a time it was. I care about you, Grant, a lot, and I know you care about me too, you've never lied about that. And I guess...I guess the thought of either of us being with someone else before we've actually tried to be together ourselves kind of makes me a little sad. We'll never know if we don't try, right?"

"I've wanted to be with you for a long time," he admits quietly, taking a few steps toward her. "I don't think I can pinpoint one specific moment when I realized it because it all just kind of crept up on me over time, but I want to be with you, Skye, in whatever way I can."

"Really?"

He nods, taking another small step closer to her. "Really." He reaches up to place his hands on her arms and a shiver runs all the way up her spine at the contact. "I'm pretty sure I love you too, Skye, and I don't want to waste any more time. I would have said something sooner but I didn't want to rush you into figuring out your feelings. I was willing to wait however long I needed to for you."

Skye gives him a small smile. "I appreciate that. But you don't have to wait anymore." She steps closer to him, sliding her arms around his torso and tilting her head back to look up at him. "I want to be with you too."

His beaming smile is all the permission she needs to rise on her toes and press her lips to his. It's slow and gentle at first, they haven't done this in over a year, but soon things between them start to heat up.

His hands slowly slide down off her arms, resting instead on her hips to pull her closer. She kisses him deeper, pressing her body as close to his as she can get it. She's wanted him from the start but was never willing to let herself acknowledge that. She couldn't, not with everything that had happened. But now, now she isn't afraid to admit that she wants to be with him.

Reluctantly pulling away, she breathes heavily, dropping back down onto her heels and resting her forehead against his chest.

"Wow," he whispers. "That was one hell of a kiss."

"I figured we've waited long enough." She lifts her head to smile up at him. "No more wasting time. I want to be with you, Grant."

He smiles back at her. "I want to be with you too." He closes the small space between them again and she smiles against his lips.

Running her hands up his back, she tangles her fingers in his hair, pulling him down closer and kissing him deeper. She presses her body against his, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

Pulling away just a hair, she whispers, "Why don't we find somewhere more comfortable?"

"You sure?" he asks just as quietly.

She nods. "I'm more than sure."

He huffs out a small laugh and kisses her again, his hands moving up to cup her face in his hands. The way he kisses her makes her toes curl and her heart clench in the best way possible. Yeah, she definitely made a good choice here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> One more chapter to go! Who's ready?
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with the FINAL CHAPTER of this little story. Thank you so much to everyone who's read and reviewed this story as well its predecessor. Your love and support means the world.
> 
> But don't worry. We're not done with this quite yet. I do have a number of one-shots planned out for this world. So keep an eye out for those. :)
> 
> And now, without further ado, the final chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

"Happy birthday, my handsome boy."

Lifting Adian carefully out of his crib, Skye holds him snuggly against her chest and drops a loving kiss to the top of his head, lingering there for just a moment as she breathes in deeply. The boy immediately curls up against her chest, huffing out a little breath of air as he grips her shirt with one fist.

"Mama."

She smiles and rubs at his back. "Yeah, baby. I'm your mama. Should we get you ready for your big day? It's not every day that you turn a year old." She lets out a heavy sigh. "I can't believe it's already been a year. You need to stop growing up, okay? It's not fair to me and your dad."

Dropping another kiss to the top of his head, she goes about getting his diaper changed and his clothes picked out. She talks to him softly the whole time, before settling herself in the rocking chair to nurse him. She sidesteps Max while she makes her way to the chair, the German Shepherd always keeping a vigilant watch over his boy.

While Adian's started eating actual food now during mealtimes, and will sometimes take a bottle if someone else feeds him before his nap or bedtime, he still much prefers getting his milk directly from the source. Not that she minds too much. She honestly missed the quiet moments like this when she was away from him. She's loved getting to spend moments like this with him again over the last few months. She's definitely way more appreciative of it now than she was before.

Running the back of her finger across his cheek, she smiles and lets out a sigh. Even though it's been a whole year since her son was born, it's still crazy for her to know that she's somebody's mom. She didn't think she'd ever get to this point. But now she has. And she couldn't be any happier.

She rests her eyes while Adian nurses, leaning her head back and rocking the chair gently. This chair is one of the best gifts she received at the baby shower. It has definitely made nursing Adian at night a whole lot easier and more enjoyable for both of them.

"Hey, you all good in here?"

She gives Grant a small smile, choosing not to open her eyes because she is still way too exhausted. "Yeah, I'm good," she whispers back.

"Okay. I'm going to get breakfast started. Anything specific you had in mind?"

"Surprise me."

"Alright. Max, come on."

The door closes and she gets lost in her thoughts again, the smile never leaving her face. It's hard to believe that she's actually in a relationship with that man. She never would have believed anyone if they'd told her that one day she'd be nursing her one-year-old son whose father happens to be the man that betrayed them all while also being in a relationship with said man. But now she can't imagine her life any other way.

Once Adian finishes nursing, she quickly burps him and then makes her way out of the room and down the hall to the lounge, knowing that Grant's already there in the kitchenette.

Sure enough, he's there when they arrive, standing at the stove making them all breakfast, his back to them. Max lies near him but not in the way if Grant needs to move around to get something.

Skye smiles when Adian shrieks happily at seeing his dad in the kitchen.

"Dada!"

Grant smiles as he steps over to them and lifts Adian out of her arms, spinning him around before settling him on his hip. "Happy birthday, Adian."

Adian simply smiles and then throws his arms around Grant's neck, hugging him tightly. "Dada."

Skye laughs quietly at the scene and then moves to grab Adian's high chair from the corner of the kitchen. She sets it up next to where she's going to be sitting at the counter and then pulls herself up onto a stool, resting her elbows on the counter and her chin in her hands.

"So what's for breakfast?" she asks curiously, watching as Grant gently bounces Adian while he cooks something on the stove.

"Pancakes," he answers back, raising his other hand just enough to keep Adian from grabbing the spatula he's using.

"Sounds delicious."

"Oh, they will be." He hands Adian to her as he carries a stack of already-made pancakes over to the counter, pressing a kiss to his boy's head.

"Adian, can you say 'thank you' to your dad for making us breakfast this morning?" Skye asks her son as she lets him stand on her legs for a few minutes.

Adian bounces in his place instead, a wide smile on his face as he stares down at the plate of pancakes in front of them.

Grant smiles at them before focusing on the last of the pancakes.

Laughing quietly to herself at Adian's excitement level despite the hour of the morning, she loops one foot around the leg of his highchair to pull it closer. She quickly gets Adian strapped into the chair, sliding the detachable tray into place and smiles at him.

"You want some pancakes, baby?" She grabs a pancake from the stack and starts breaking it up into little pieces that she drops onto his tray. "You've gotta eat it and tell your daddy how good it is, okay?"

Adian shrieks happily, slapping his hand down onto the tray and pushing the pancake pieces around wildly, some of them slipping off onto the floor. She manages to pick them up before Max can get to them.

Skye sighs as she watches her son. "No, baby, you've got to eat them."

"He will on his own time, Skye," Grant calls to her from the stove. "Be patient. He's never had pancakes before, he's probably just curious."

"I know. But he's had other foods before."

"Not too many, though."

Tearing up the last of the pancake, she drops all the pieces onto her son's tray and then turns to grab a plate for herself, placing two pancakes on it and grabbing the syrup.

"Please don't drown those in syrup," Grant says, his back still to her. It's eerie how he does that. She figures it's just his super-spy genes coming into play. Then again, she doesn't have super-spy genes but she's definitely been developing that sixth-sense as a mom that she's heard about.

"That's the only way to eat pancakes," she tells Grant, proceeding to do exactly what he told her not to do. "Also, I'm pretty sure you can't tell me what to do."

"I'm not telling you what to do. I'm asking you not to do something. Your choice if you do it or not."

"And I'm choosing to do it." She sets the bottle down and cuts into her pancakes, shoving a few pieces into her mouth and smiling. "These are really good, by the way."

"You sure it's not the river of syrup?"

She rolls her eyes. "Don't be dramatic. The pancakes are great." She sighs when she looks back at her son, glad that she hadn't actually gotten him dressed yet. Clearly, Adian had been excited about the new food in front of him, and she's not sure how much of it will actually make it into his mouth by the end of breakfast. There are already bits of pancake stuck in his messy hair and smeared across his cheeks and chin. This is going to be a long day.

.

.

.

Stepping through the doorway of the lounge later that afternoon after Adian has had his nap, Skye gasps quietly when she sees all the decorations hanging up around the room. A giant banner at the far end of the room reads 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADIAN', colorful streamers hanging down from the ceiling. Two tables off to the side hold food and presents, the space in the center of the room cleared out, allowing Adian loads of space to walk around and play.

Once they enter the room, everyone that's there shouts out 'Happy Birthday', making Adian smile wide despite the fact that he might not really know what's going on just yet. It's the thought that counts, though.

"There's the birthday boy," Trip says as he and Fitz approach them. Trip immediately scoops Adian up off the floor. "Happy birthday, little man."

"You guys did such a great job with this," Skye tells them with a smile. "It looks amazing."

"Anything for our favorite lad," Fitz replies, reaching out to grab Adian's hand and give it a quick shake.

"Fizz!" Adian exclaims a second later, leaning forward out of Trip's arms.

"Do you see Uncle Fitz, baby?" Skye asks her son.

"Fizz!"

She sighs, looking at her friend. "Guess you're Uncle Fizz, now. At least until he can get that 't' in there properly."

Fitz shrugs. "I don't mind being Uncle Fizz." He reaches out and takes Adian into his arms, talking quietly to him as he carries him to another part of the room, Trip trailing behind him.

Letting out another sigh, Skye leans back against Grant, smiling when he wraps his arms around her and rests his chin on the top of her head.

"Can you believe we're really here?" she asks him. "Did you ever think that we would be?"

"Not at all, if I'm being honest. After what I did to you guys, I didn't think you'd ever want to have anything to do with me."

"If I'm being honest, if it wasn't for Adian, I don't think I'd ever have forgiven you or given you the time of day."

"So I guess we can thank Adian for us being together, then."

She smiles. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Mama!"

She laughs quietly. "I'm coming, baby." She pushes off of Grant and makes her way across the room to where her son is sitting happily in Fitz's arms chatting with everyone as best he can. "Are you having fun?"

She runs a hand over his head, smiling as she watches him babble mostly nonsense to the few people around him. Not every person that resides on base is there, but a good number of them are. She's glad to know that despite everything that's happened, the majority of the agents seem to have come around to the idea of having Adian living on base. She can't say she blames them, though, he's a pretty great kid. Then again, she is a little biased about the whole thing. But that's how it is with most parents out there, usually thinking their kid is the best of all the kids. She's fairly certain that Grant is definitely going to be one of those dads, especially as Adian gets older and his personality really starts developing.

"Have we missed the party yet?"

Skye spins around quickly and grins when she sees the small family making their way into the room, looking a little unsure of what to do since it's their first time there.

"Rose! You guys made it!" She's across the room in an instant, pulling the other woman into a tight hug.

"Of course we did. I mean, I think we almost got shot by automatic weapons when we got close, but we're here."

"Yeah, sorry about that. It's a security measure."

"No, I get it. Now, where's that handsome nephew of mine?"

Skye laughs quietly as Rose pushes her way through the room in search of Adian. "Hey, Owen, hey Matt."

"Skye, it's good to see you again," Owen tells her with a small smile and nod of his head. "How have you been?"

"Overwhelmed. But happy."

"Where's Uncle Grant?" Matt asks, glancing around the room curiously.

"He should be over by your mom somewhere," Skye tells him.

"Okay. Where can I put Adian's present?"

"There's a big table set up with a bunch of presents already on it. You can't miss it."

Matt nods once and then moves through the room, struggling just a bit to carry the large wrapped box.

"I really hope you guys didn't go overboard on Adian's present."

Owen laughs. "You know Rose. She was beyond excited when she found out she was an aunt, I don't think that's ever going to go away. So you should probably get used to the idea of her spoiling Adian."

She sighs. "I guess I can't really complain." She turns around at the sound of her son's laughter, watching him and Matthew playing with some of Adian's toys that they'd brought out for him so he wouldn't be completely bored at his own birthday party. "He's got a pretty good life."

"From what Rose has told me, he's got a better childhood than you and Grant did."

She nods, glancing over at Owen. "That is very true. We both had pretty messed up childhoods, so we knew we wanted to give Adian as normal of a childhood as we possibly could. One that's filled with people who actually love him and will do anything for him."

"Well, from what I can see, you've definitely given him that."

She smiles at him. "Not sure if I've told you this, but you're a pretty cool guy, Owen. Rose is lucky to have met you."

Owen smiles. "Thanks. But I'm definitely the lucky one in our relationship. She's the best. I'm really glad that she and Grant reconciled, that she could be here today."

"So am I." She smiles when she catches Grant's eye, holding up a finger to let him know she'll be there in a second when he waves her over to him. She looks at Owen. "Feel free to mingle and find some snacks. You guys are staying for the night, right?"

Owen nods. "That's the plan. It'll probably be too late to drive back."

"Great. I'll see you later, then." She gives him one last smile before making her way over to her boyfriend and their son, immediately being attacked by a hug from the younger of the two.

"Mama!"

She stoops down to lift him into her arms, pressing kisses all over his face to make him giggle. "Hi, baby."

Adian squirms in her arms and stretches out for the carpet, indicating that he wants to be put back down.

She laughs quietly when she puts him on the ground and he makes a beeline for the nearest person to attack in a hug. The shock on the agents' face has a few more people around them snickering.

"Oh, that boy loves to love," she remarks to no one in particular as she leans back against Grant's chest, breathing in deeply when his arms snake around her waist.

"That's definitely all you right there," he tells her, watching as Adian hugs more agents and then his cousin and aunt. "You've got a big heart too. I don't think I'd be here right now if you didn't."

"But at least you're here," she replies, tilting her head back to look up at him. "We made a beautiful baby boy together who's going to grow up to be an amazing man just like his dad. And you get to be here for all of it."

He smiles back at her, leaning down to give her a kiss. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be than right here with you and our son. I'm not going anywhere, you're stuck with me until the end, whenever that is."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Oi! Love birds! This is a birthday party, are we gonna eat some cake or just stand around acting like we're having fun?"

She sighs heavily. "Leave it to Hunter to be more enthusiastic about the cake at a one-year-old's birthday party."

"Well, Bobbi did mention that he's like a giant child himself, so is it really that surprising?"

They share a laugh as they move through the room to get things set up so they can sing to Adian and then everyone can have some cake.

.

.

.

Propping the tablet up in front of her on the dresser, Skye rocks back on her heels as she waits for the video call to connect. It feels like it's been forever since she's talked to her parents and she knows they're both eager to talk to Adian as well. Despite the time difference, they promised they'd both be available for a video call whenever.

A few seconds after she requests the call, the camera connects and she smiles at seeing both of her parents on their other end.

"Hey, guys."

"Skye, it's so good to see you. I wish it were in person, though."

Her lips pull down just a little. "I know, mom, me too. But you've both got a lot on your plate keeping Afterlife together and I've got a lot to do here too. We're trying to get SHIELD back in the good graces of the government so we don't have to live in this base forever and my son won't have to grow up as a fugitive due to circumstance."

"That's understandable. And speaking of, where is that handsome grandson of ours?"

"He is right here," Grant says, entering the room with Adian held securely in his arms, a fluffy monkey towel wrapped around the boy's small body. They'd decided on Grant giving Adian his bath that night so that Skye could clean up more from the party and then get the video call set up with her parents.

"Mama," Adian says when he sees her, leaning out of Grant's arms for her.

She smiles and takes him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Oh, I love you too, baby. And look who called to say hi to you." She points at the screen of her tablet, laughing when her son shrieks at seeing his grandparents.

"Hi, Adian," her mom says with a small laugh. "Happy Birthday."

"Happy birthday, kiddo," her dad says next, leaning close to the screen and waving. "We love you so much."

Adian squeals and reaches for the screen but Skye manages to pull him back just in time. She smiles at her parents. "Clearly he is very excited to see you. I'm sure you guys would love to keep talking to him, but we should probably get him changed and in bed. We could have gotten on earlier but he was very happy about eating his cake so that was a mess to clean up from the carpet."

"Oh, we understand, sweetheart," her mom says with a soft smile. "We can always talk tomorrow morning."

"That should actually work. I'll call you?"

"Of course. We'll see you then. Bye, Adian."

"Bye, kiddo."

"Adian, can you wave bye?" she asks, nudging her son's arm up into view of the camera.

He waves a little awkwardly at the screen and then she shuts it off, ending the call and darkening the screen.

She breathes in deeply as she turns Adian around in her lap so he's facing her. "Alright, birthday boy, time to get you ready for bed. Should we put you in the cool new monkey pajamas your uncle Fizz got you?"

"Fizz!" Adian shrieks, bouncing on his little legs.

She laughs quietly. "I'll take that as a yes." She carries him over to the changing table, putting a fresh diaper on him before slipping him into the set of pajamas that Fitz got him for his birthday, cartoon monkeys printed all over them.

"Dada!" Adian shouts as soon as she stands him up on the table.

She glances over her shoulder to find Grant leaning back against the wall watching them with a smile. "What's got you so smiley?" she asks, hoisting Adian onto her hip and approaching him.

He reaches out to place his hands on her hips and pull her closer. "I'm just happy. Is that a crime?"

She stretches up on her toes to kiss him quickly. "No, it is not. What do you say about some downtime as a family before we put Adian to bed? Maybe we could watch a movie. There are still many that you haven't seen."

His smile makes her heart flutter. "I definitely like the sound of that." He gives her a kiss before taking Adian from her and making his way out of the room. "What do you think, bud?" his voice echoes. "You want to watch a movie?"

She smiles to herself as she shuts the light off on her way out of the room, following Grant to his room.

Once there, they settle themselves on the bed, Adian lying comfortably between their bodies with Skye's computer open in front of them.

Adian falls asleep quickly once the movie starts, no surprise to either of them. The boy definitely wore himself out at his party earlier, having fun with everyone that was there.

Neither of them has the heart to move him when he's sleeping so soundly in the large bed. Max is curled up right in front of him, also not much of a surprise.

"Hard to believe we actually have a one-year-old," Skye remarks when the credits start rolling. She reaches down to run a hand through her son's hair, smiling at the way his nose scrunches up involuntarily.

"It definitely is that," Grant replies. "He's growing up so fast."

"He really is." She leans down to press a kiss to her son's head before smiling up at Grant. "I'm really glad you're here to see him grow up. And to raise him with me."

Grant smiles back at her, reaching one hand out to brush some locks of hair back behind her ear. "Right here with you and our son, just like this, there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> If there is anything you'd like to see in a one-shot for this universe, let me know. Maybe I'll get inspired if it works for this little world. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jeallybean96 out!

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


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